Insolvency - Signa Group dissolves prominent members of advisory board
Signa, the real estate and retail group affected by insolvency, has dissolved its prominent advisory board. The strategic advisory board, which included the German management consultant Roland Berger, never had a legal function, but nevertheless caused costs, according to well-informed circles. The advisory board members also included the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli, Ernst Tanner, as well as former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and former Vice-Chancellor Susanne Riess-Hahn.
An intricate network of companies
Signa Holding, founded by the Austrian entrepreneur René Benko, and other companies in the interlocking network of companies are insolvent. Creditors have registered claims of more than one billion euros. In addition, Mubadala, the state investment holding company of the United Arab Emirates, has demanded 713 million euros in payments from Signa Holding and its shareholders. However, this has been rejected for the time being in urgent arbitration proceedings, the insolvency administrator of Signa Holding announced in Vienna on Thursday. Mubadala could now initiate regular arbitration proceedings. The Signa Group includes the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store group and the stalled Elbtower construction project in Hamburg. Their parent companies have not yet filed for bankruptcy.
Thanks to low interest rates and good connections to financially strong investors, Signa was able to grow strongly during the low-interest phase of recent years. Rising interest rates and construction costs have recently put pressure on the real estate sector and plunged Signa into serious problems.
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Source: www.stern.de
