PORTAGE – Two days after Sears announced it would close its Kmart store in Portage, Michigan-based Meijer Inc., announced it would buy the property at U.S. 6 and Airport Road.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

A spokesman for Meijer confirmed the company was interested in locating a store in Portage, its first in Porter County, but did not disclose any information on where that store might locate.

Last week, Sears, the parent company for Kmart, announced that because of lower-than-expected holiday sales, it was closing 80 stores around the country. The only two locations in Northwest Indiana were in Kmart stores in St. John and Portage.