Sears lives. For now.

The bankrupt retailer and its chairman, Edward S. Lampert, have reached a $5.3 billion deal that would keep its 425 stores open and its 50,000 employees at work, according to a person familiar with the situation.

In the deal, which was reached in the early hours on Wednesday, Mr. Lampert would acquire most of Sears’s assets, the person said. The final details of the sale still needed to be arranged, and negotiations continued through the day.

Mr. Lampert, a hedge fund manager, was the only bidder at a closed-door auction this week who sought to keep the company operating. All of the competing bidders planned to liquidate the company’s real estate, inventory and brands.

A federal bankruptcy judge must still approve Mr. Lampert’s bid, giving the company’s creditors a chance to derail the deal. Last week, the bankruptcy judge, Robert D. Drain, said Mr. Lampert’s bid was “a good development” because it offered Sears a shot at survival.