The air is getting thinner for entrepreneur René Benko
The Austrian entrepreneur René Benko is apparently prepared to hand over his voting rights to the insolvency administrator Arndt Geiwitz and appoint him as chairman of the advisory board of the crisis-ridden real estate holding Signa. This was reported by the "Standard" and the "Kronen Zeitung" newspapers, citing shareholder Hans Peter Haselsteiner. There is no official confirmation of this from Benko or Signa.
According to Haselsteiner, Benko "agreed to the wishes of several investors, but also put forward his own ideas". The aim is "for the shareholders to participate in the restructuring to the best of their ability, including financially", the "Standard" quotes him as saying. In view of the complex structures at Signa and the disparate interests of the shareholders, the conditions for this could "only be created in a few days". According to the report, this means that Benko could possibly comply with the investors' wishes. However, this also depends on how much money they are prepared to invest in Signa.
Yesterday, Thursday, it became known that important shareholders of the troubled real estate holding company had turned against company founder Benko, according to consistent media reports. In a personal letter from several investors, the Austrian entrepreneur was asked to withdraw from the management of his Signa Group and to hand over his voting rights to a trustee, reported the "Handelsblatt". Only if Benko were to withdraw immediately would "crisis management (...) to save the group" be possible, the newspaper quoted from the letter. The restructuring expert Arndt Geiwitz, whom Benko has brought on board as a consultant, is proposed as trustee.
Der Spiegel" reported on a video conference of several investors in which they agreed at the beginning of the week that Benko must relinquish power at Signa. Otherwise he would not receive any more money from the shareholders to secure the existence of his group. Restructuring expert Geiwitz, who had dialed into the crisis meeting, was to take over control of Signa as chief representative, according to the investors. According to Der Spiegel, Signa and Benko did not answer any questions about this.
Benko's Signa Group, which has grown rapidly over the years, includes real estate and retail holdings worth billions. The subsidiary Signa Sports United (SSU) has slipped into financial difficulties and has filed for insolvency. SSU, which is registered as a Dutch company in Amsterdam, is the parent company of dozens of internet retailers in the sporting goods market such as Tennis-Point, fahrrad.de, Campz and Outfitter.
René Benko's decision to hand over his voting rights to Arndt Geiwitz, the insolvency administrator, could potentially impact the future of Signa's real estate holdings, as Geiwitz is set to become chairman of the advisory board. The financial participation of shareholders in the restructuring process of Signa's real estate holdings, including Signa Sports United, is crucial to the company's future.
Source: www.ntv.de
