The most prestigious properties of the largely insolvent Signa Group are to be sold in the next few years. The creditors of Signa Prime Selection AG agreed to a corresponding plan in Vienna.
The majority of the creditors of the insolvent Signa Prime Selection AG voted in favor of a restructuring plan, thus averting bankruptcy and an emergency sale of the luxury properties. Now a trustee should take over and sell all assets, announced insolvency administrator Norbert Abel after the creditors’ meeting in Vienna.
“In the vote, both the head and the capital majority were achieved and the trust restructuring plan was therefore accepted by the creditors,” the statement says. The previous self-administered restructuring, which was massively criticized by some creditors, has now come to an end.
liquidator promises a rate of 32 percent
In a report by the insolvency administrator, creditors were recently given the prospect of a quota of 32 percent. In the event of bankruptcy, the properties would have had to be sold as quickly as possible, which would mean a lower quota for the creditors, according to the insolvency administrator’s assessment.
According to his proposal, all properties should now be sold by the trustee in an orderly manner over a period of three to five years in order to benefit from an expected recovery in the market.
Largest bankruptcy in Austrian Economic history
Signa is the biggest victim of the real estate crisis in Europe so far. The heavily indebted real estate giant suffered from increased construction costs, energy prices and interest rates and the resulting lower valuations, which led to an increased need for liquidity.
The bankruptcy is the largest in Austrian economic history. According to data from the insolvency administrator Abel, Signa Prime’s creditors have registered claims of around 12.8 billion euros.
Signa Prime was considered the flagship of the real estate and trading group set up by Tyrolean entrepreneur René Benko. It is the owner of important properties, including the still unfinished Elbtower in Hamburg, the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe, properties belonging to the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain and the building of the Austrian Constitutional Court.
KaDeWe and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof are looking for buyers
For tax reasons, Signa Prime’s German real estate is not formally subject to the trustee, but de facto he retains control over consent rights and over outstanding claims of Signa Prime on its subsidiaries.
The creditors’ meeting in Vienna was only about the winding up of Signa real estate, not about the sale of department store businesses such as KaDeWe and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. They are also insolvent and are looking for buyers.
Wolfgang Vichtl, ARD Vienna, tagesschau, March 18, 2024 5:04 p.m