Real estate - Further insolvency application at Signa
Another real estate company belonging to Austrian investor René Benko's ailing Signa Group has filed for insolvency. According to the Vienna Commercial Court, Signa Development Selection AG filed a corresponding application today.
The company, which specializes in project developments, is therefore seeking restructuring proceedings under self-administration, as Signa already announced on Thursday. The company is to continue as a going concern and creditors are to be offered a quota of 30 percent payable within two years, it said.
According to the Creditreform protection association, the claims of around 200 creditors amount to around 1.3 billion euros. This means that the claims against the insolvent companies of the Signa Group currently total around twelve billion euros, said Creditreform spokesman Gerhard Weinhofer.
Signa Prime Selection AG also filed for insolvency
On Thursday, the group's real estate flagship, Signa Prime Selection AG, also filed for insolvency. The proceedings in self-administration have since been opened by the commercial court. Signa Prime owns commercial real estate in prime locations, including the Elbtower in Hamburg, the KaDeWe in Berlin and a luxury department store under construction in Vienna.
The highly complex Signa Group also has hundreds of smaller companies. "There is currently an insolvency cascade from top to bottom. The question is whether the cascade can be stopped in order to start liquidating the assets in peace," said Weinhofer. According to Creditreform, Signa Development's real estate portfolio includes 39 projects.
Higher interest rates, higher construction costs and higher energy prices
After strong growth during the low-interest phase, Benko's empire had fallen into extreme difficulties due to higher interest rates, higher construction costs and higher energy prices. Signa also owns the department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK). It is not yet clear what the announced insolvency filing means for GKK itself.
According to Creditreform, Signa is the largest insolvency in Austria's post-war history. Signa Holding GmbH, whose insolvency proceedings have been running for around a month, is in first place with a debt of five billion euros, according to the APA news agency. It is followed by Signa Prime Selection AG with creditor claims of around 4.5 billion euros.
Read also:
- Why there is still no EU funding for green Saar steel
- 3 billion Saar Fund is unconstitutional
- Lack of snow also opens up new opportunities for winter tourism
- Abrupt end to e-car subsidies
Source: www.stern.de
