May 4, 2024

Rene Benko: This is the billionaire’s crumbling corporate empire

Real estate investor Rene Benko is the founder of Signa Group.
Sebastian Weidmann/Getty Images

Austrian businessman and investor Rene Benko is a billionaire. But his billion-dollar empire appears to be in trouble. There have been bankruptcies, construction stops, many companies have been sold and investors have turned away.

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, numerous luxury stores, the famous Chrysler Building or Elbtower in Hamburg: all this belongs to Benko’s Signa Holding.

We’ve listed what belongs to Signa and what are the new developments there.

Austrian businessman and investor Rene Benko is a billionaire. “Forbes” Its assets are estimated at 5.7 billion euros. But his billion-dollar empire appears to be facing difficult times. There have been bankruptcies, construction stops, many companies have been sold and investors have turned away.

Due to the crisis, Cigna is said to have brought restructuring expert Arndt Goetz to the board, reports say. “direction”. Goetz has already made a name for himself in divestitures of companies such as Schlicker and Lufthansa. According to insiders, fellow shareholders are reportedly asking Rene Benko to withdraw “Food newspaper”.

The Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain, the famous Chrysler Building in New York’s Manhattan district or the Elbtower in Hamburg: all of this belongs to Signa Holding, the company in which Benko is the largest shareholder. It is divided into two divisions, real estate and trading, but is also active in the media field and owns shares in Courier and Kronen Zeitung.

Image Alliance/Georg Hochmuth/APA/imagedesk.com | George Hochmuth/College: Interested in business

Various real estate projects

Signa is one of the largest private property owners in Europe. The group stated on its website that its real estate assets amount to 28 billion euros “Nzz.”

It was only recently announced that construction of the Elbtower tower in Hamburg has been halted. high “picture” The stoppage is said to be linked to payments owed by Signa Group, which is behind the project, which has a total cost of $1 billion. The prestigious project, designed by renowned architect David Chapperfield, is set to become the third tallest building in Germany, it has been reported. “RND”.

It is also said that a million-dollar project like this has been stalled in Stuttgart “Southgerman newspaper” mentioned. In March, it was announced that Banko was selling half of his Kadewe holdings to a Thai company.

Read also

Is Galleria Karstadt Kufhof in trouble again? Internal documents show how high losses are and how low liquidity is

Department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof

The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof belongs to the Signa Group empire of René Benko. The chain has now had to go through a second bankruptcy and the federal government has lost nearly 600 million euros. According to Business Insider information, the trading giant is already tens of millions behind plan in terms of profits and liquidity even after its second bankruptcy.

Various luxury stores

Luxury department stores such as Kadewe in Germany, Globus in Switzerland and Selfridges in the UK are also part of Signa – often shared with the central group in Thailand.

Bankruptcy: Signa Sports United is bankrupt

Recently, real estate and trading giant Cigna allowed its listed subsidiary Cigna Sports United to slide into bankruptcy. Signa Sports United has 80 providers and 500 stores, including Fahrrad.de and Tennis Point.

See also  Goku and Class aren't winning airtime this time - dpa

Signa Group has sold several companies

Fittingly, the group has already sold Austrian furniture chain Kika/Leiner and sports retailer SportScheck. Due to sale of Cigna furniture series Charged with delaying bankruptcy. Sporting goods chain Sportscheck is set to be acquired by British fashion retailer Frasers. Sportscheck has sales of approximately €350 million per year in 34 branches “Handelsblatt”.

jm

Read also

The steep rise of billionaire René Benco – and why he and the Signa Group are now in danger of collapsing