The construction freezes didn’t bode well. Nothing has worked recently on the Elbtower and other major projects in Hamburg and Stuttgart. And those weren’t the first signals of crisis from the Signa Group. What has recently become clearer is that the real estate empire of Austrian entrepreneur René Benko, 46, has gotten into dangerous difficulties. Now he apparently pulls the emergency brake. After a number of major investors and business partners have turned away from him in the past few days, Benko wants to withdraw from the severely ailing Signa Holding and hand over his voting rights – to the German restructuring expert Arndt Geiwitz, 54, who was recently brought on board at his instigation.
As general representative and chairman of the advisory board, he is to take over command of Signa, one of the largest European real estate conglomerates with headquarters in Innsbruck and Vienna. Several Austrian media reported this on Friday. The entrepreneur Hans-Peter Haselsteiner, who himself holds 15 percent of Signa, confirmed the information on ORF; There was initially no word from Signa. The company, like Benko, has not responded to media inquiries for a long time.
On paper, managing directors Marcus Mühlberger and Christoph Stadlhuber are in charge at Signa. The advisory board also includes, among others, the former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) and the Wüstenrot boss and former politician of the right-wing populist FPÖ, Susanne Riess-Hahn. According to the ORF, the “Wunderwuzzi”, Benko’s nickname in Austria, holds around 50 percent of the Signa Group directly or indirectly, for example through foundations. Benko is considered the strong man in the company, who, according to a long-time companion, “always takes care of everything down to the smallest detail and doesn’t let anyone look at his cards.” Although he does not have an operational role at Signa, nothing happens there without him. Benko is also the only one who has an overview of the complex corporate empire of several hundred companies in Austria and other countries.
The fact that he is now apparently giving up his voting rights to Geiwitz is met with relief and approval from his fellow investors. “The shareholders have taken note of this step with approval and also positively because there is trust in Mr. Geiwitz, completely,” said Haselsteiner on ORF. The lawyer Geiwitz has been considered an experienced insolvency administrator and reorganizer since his work as insolvency administrator for the Schlecker drugstore chain and a few months ago for the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store group.
In a letter, important investors spectacularly turned away from Benko
Industry experts assess his chances of saving the company empire as a whole differently. A lot depends on the other investors and their willingness to support the network financially, says an insider. But a break-up is also being discussed; critics say the confusing conglomerate is in ruins anyway. According to unconfirmed information, the company is under pressure from billions in debt, as well as a liquidity gap in the three-digit million range.
The situation has worsened in recent months due to rising construction prices and interest rates; Most recently, an Asian investor who actually wanted to help out with an amount in the three-digit million range is said to have bailed out on Benko at the last moment. Another indication of the difficulties is the insolvency of Signa Sports United, a conglomerate of various sports retail companies and online shops. Other companies in this division were sold, including the Munich trading company Sport-Scheck.
Now Benko is reacting to a letter in which important investors have spectacularly turned away from him. In the letter about which this Handelsblatt first reported, they called on Benko to withdraw immediately because successful crisis management would be impossible with him. It was said that he should hand over his shares to a trustee. Many disgruntled investors accuse the Tyrolean of not informing them early, in detail and transparently enough about the company’s difficulties. In addition to Haselsteiner, the signatories of the letter also included Ernst Tanner from the Swiss chocolate dynasty Lindt & Sprüngli, the founder of the pet food chain Fressnapf, Torsten Toeller, as well as the Swiss entrepreneur Arthur Eugster and the entrepreneur Julia Dora Koranyi-Arduini, who were among the core investors Signa should belong. “This week the shareholders asked René Benko to go one step further and appoint Mr. Geiwitz not only as a restructuring representative, but also as a kind of general representative,” said Haselsteiner on Friday.
In Hamburg, the construction stop on the Signa Elbtower project is causing discussions. The governing mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) rejects public donations for the billion-dollar project. “The Elbtower is – unlike the Elbphilharmonie – a project at the risk of private investors, who would suffer major economic damage if the project were canceled in this phase,” he told the news magazine The mirror.