As of: March 8, 2024, 1:21 p.m
By: Bona Hyun
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Signa founder René Benko files for insolvency as a sole proprietor.
The entrepreneur from Austria is now liable with his private assets.
Berlin – Deep blow for René Benko: The Austrian investor René Benko is bankrupt.
After the series of insolvencies at Signa, the founder of the real estate and trading group has now declared himself insolvent.
Now Benko is also dealing privately with an insolvency administrator.
The real estate speculator now becomes a “transparent person.”
Signa founder Benko is bankrupt – insolvency proceedings have been opened
The insolvency administrator can now access, among other things, Benko's entire assets and all accounts.
The Innsbruck regional court opened corresponding insolvency proceedings on Friday (March 8th), as a court spokesman announced.
The founder of the ailing real estate and trading group Signa had filed for bankruptcy himself as an entrepreneur.
The Austrian tax authorities have charged Benko with tax debts of almost two million euros, as the
German Press Agency
(dpa)
learned.
However, the demands on the entrepreneur could be significantly higher.
Sovereign wealth fund Mubadala in Abu Dhabi tried to collect 713 million euros from Benko and Signa companies.
René Benko at an event in 2021. © Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa
Benko files for bankruptcy – Signa Group previously went bankrupt
The former billionaire Benko no longer had any official management positions at Signa, but did have consulting contracts with individual sub-companies of the group.
After these contracts were terminated in the wake of the group's crisis, Benko currently does not have sufficient current income to settle the claims, as the
dpa
learned.
The Signa Group's portfolio includes, among others, the insolvent department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, the abandoned Elbtower construction project in Hamburg and the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe.
Signa had expanded significantly during the low interest rate period and plunged into crisis due to rising interest rates and construction costs.
Benko-Beben: Signa founder was more than just about real estate
Benko actually wanted to develop much more than real estate.
“Signa is intended to be a family-owned European industrial and investment holding company.
“Similar to the family holdings of the Agnellis, Oetkers or Reimanns,” he told the Austrian magazine “Trend” in 2018. The Italian carmaker family Agnelli (Stellantis), the Oetkers with their food and beverage companies and the Reimann (Jacobs) beverage dynasty are not only active in their core businesses, but in several sectors.
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Like the Agnellis, Benko also relied on media, like the Oetkers, he also relied on hotels.
He also invested in the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store group and in the online retail of sporting goods.
Today the Galeria Group is insolvent again, as is the sports division.
The media holdings are about to be sold.
Benko's prestigious investments also include the Elbtower project in Hamburg, the KaDeWe luxury department store in Berlin and the Chrysler Building in New York.
Case of René Benko: Signa founder from Austria is now insolvent
Benko managed to get financially strong supporters on board - such as logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne, management consultant Roland Berger and Torsten Toeller, the founder of the Fressnapf pet stores.
"That's easy.
Investors are interested in ensuring that the money they invest earns a decent interest rate,” said former Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who held various advisory and supervisory roles in the Signa Group.
“The investors have always earned well,” Gusenbauer told broadcaster
ORF
.
FYI: In bankruptcy proceedings, the debtor's assets are divided among the creditors.
However, it is possible to create a restructuring plan as part of the process.
The debtors would then receive 20 percent of the requested amount.
If a debtor does not directly seek restructuring proceedings, but instead files for bankruptcy as a first step, as Benko did, this could be because the debtor does not have the minimum quota of 20 percent, said Gerhard Weinhofer from the credit agency Creditreform of the
dpa
.
(bohy/dpa)