The former Canadian division of Sears is set to go out of business, a fate the U.S. retailer is still trying to avoid as department stores suffer.

Sears Canada, which spun off from U.S.-based Sears Holdings in 2012, said Tuesday that it would ask for a court's permission to liquidate.

The move effectively ends the company's last-ditch attempt to keep some stores open under new ownership.

The retailer's demise in Canada comes as department stores are ailing in competition with Amazon.com, nimble fast-fashion competitors and other retailers. In the U.S., Sears Sears Holdings has closed hundreds of locations and sold assets in an effort to reinvent itself.

The news marks a blow to Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert, who held 45% of the Canadian spinoff as of earlier this year, according to public filings. Lampert has also pumped hundreds of millions of his personal fortune into the U.S. Sears, shooting for a turnaround.

Liquidation sales at Sears Canada stores will begin as soon as Oct. 19 if a Canadian court signs off at a hearing Friday.

The company had pursued a potential sale but said Tuesday that despite some interest, "following exhaustive efforts, no viable transaction for the company to continue as a going concern was received."

"The company deeply regrets this pending outcome and the resulting loss of jobs and store closures," Sears Canada said.

As of January, Sears Canada had 95 department stores, 25 Sears Homes locations, 14 Sears Outlet stores, 59 Sears Hometown stores and dozens of other niche operations.

The company had already started to close dozens of locations before Tuesday's announcement.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.