The federal government wants to save Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof with a cash injection - but one expert is skeptical whether the money will ever be paid back.
There is also a suspicion.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof
is plagued by financial hardship - and could now
receive
public funding
.
The
federal government
would like to support the traditional department store chain with a loan.
But there is
criticism
: would the state ever see the money again?
Meanwhile, the
group is being
investigated.
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Berlin / Munich - The topic of
Corona economic
aid for companies in crisis is polarizing.
Is financial support from the state justified if a previously tried and tested business model is supposedly threatened with extinction?
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof
has a traditional background - but problems for a long time.
Last but not least, the department store chain is also troubled by developments in the
digital age
; the merger of
Galeria Kaufhof
and
Karstadt
has apparently not really improved the situation.
Due to
Corona
, the situation worsened in 2020: Over 100 branches of
GKK
in pedestrian zones in Germany were well-attended department stores, but these times are over due to the lockdown measures *.
The
federal government
would like to support
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof
with an enormous sum of 460 million euros, the economic stabilization fund has already given the "green light".
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: Mega loan for a troubled group?
"Hardly any chance of repayment"
Berlin
would like to
help
the company, which is owned by the Austrian
Signa Holding
, to secure jobs and to overcome the difficult situation.
The
financial aid offered
by the
federal government
*
is a
loan
that is subject to certain conditions
.
However, it is not yet clear whether the department store group, whose future has been on the brink for a long time, will make use of the support.
+
Tug of war for Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof am Stachus.
The department store chain is being investigated for delaying bankruptcy.
© IMAGO / Sven Simon
However, the chairman of the Monopolies Commission, an advisory body to the
coalition in Berlin *
, is critical of state support and doubts that a rescue operation is not shaped by sustainability: “The rather less good” prospects of the company against the background of
slow digitization are
“problematic “, Judges Jürgen Kühling to the
world
.
For taxpayers, the fact that it is only a
subordinated loan is
critical
.
As Kühling explains, there is "little chance of repayment in the event of bankruptcy".
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: Corona is troubling the chain - Was there a delay in bankruptcy?
And there is another problem: the
Essen public prosecutor's office is
investigating Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof for
delaying bankruptcy
.
However, the initial suspicion has not yet been confirmed, announced a judge spokeswoman.
GKK had
filed for insolvency
in self-administration
in April of last year
.
The investigators are investigating the allegation that
GKK
should not
have been
insolvent
until March 2020, but earlier
.
The unusual thing
about
this
investigation
- it is based on a criminal complaint from a private person and not as usual ex officio.
(PF with AFP / dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from the Ippen Digital Network
List of rubric lists: © IMAGO / Sven Simon