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Montgomery Ward May Seek Investors: Faced with sagging sales and plunging profit, the privately held Chicago-based retailer said it may sell a stake to new investors to raise money that would allow it to expand and upgrade its stores to boost business. The 124-year-old retailer, which went private in 1988, said it will also consider having current investors pump in more money and selling part of Ward’s profitable direct marketing operation. “To indicate we are looking at one specific option would be premature,” Montgomery Ward & Co. spokeswoman Judy Gustafson said. Ward has hired consultants to estimate the value of the firm and its retail unit, Chairman Bernard Brennan said. When Brennan led the 1988 buyout with GE Capital Corp., the plan was to take the retailer public. The idea was shelved when profit plunged 90% in 1995. For the first quarter, Ward lost $51 million and saw sales drop 7.6%.