Creditors of Signa Prime Selection, the most prestigious segment of Austria's insolvent Signa Group and owner of Berlin's luxury department store, KaDeWe, have agreed to sell the segment's assets, the bankruptcy administrator said on Monday.
Sigma Prime is seen as the crown jewel of flamboyant entrepreneur René Benko's bankrupt real estate empire, which has been brought down by rising interest rates, construction costs and energy prices.
Its assets also include Hamburg's unfinished Elbe Tower, the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof chain and the building housing Austria's Constitutional Court.
Signa Prime creditors have registered outstanding claims of around €12.8 billion ($13.9 billion) with the administrator, Norbert Abel, according to the latest figures. Abel has thus far acknowledged around €5.9 billion.
Under his proposal, the assets placed under his control are to be sold over a period of three to five years, with the aim of profiting from an expected rise in real estate prices. The intention is to cover at least 30% of the outstanding claims.
Signa Prime's German assets have not been placed under the administrator's direct control for tax reasons, but he does hold control over rights of approval and outstanding claims on the assets of Signa Prime and its subsidiaries.
The creditors' meeting in Vienna discussed only the winding down of Signa properties, and not the sale of businesses such as KaDewe and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. These outlets, which also belong to the Signa Group, are also insolvent and looking for a buyer.
