2023-12-28 12:37:29
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 27 minutes ago, Updated now
Another subsidiary, Signa Development Selection AG, is in the same situation and will in turn file a request for reorganization proceedings on Friday. LISA LEUTNER / REUTERS
The two main subsidiaries of the Austrian real estate empire Signa, already in receivership, in turn filed a restructuring request on Thursday, a symbol of the sector’s difficulties following years of cheap credit. “The board of directors of SIGNA Prime Selection AG today filed a request with the Vienna Commercial Court to initiate restructuring proceedings» for insolvency, the company said in a statement.
After a spectacular rise under the aegis of Austrian billionaire René Benko, Signa Holding, one of the most prestigious real estate empires in Europe, founded in 2000, had already filed for bankruptcy at the end of November. Its subsidiary Signa Prime Selection AG, “its largest company in the real estate sector» according to the company, brings together city center investments in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It has German flagships, such as the famous KaDeWe department store in Berlin, the Elbtower in Hamburg, still unfinished, or the Park Hyatt palace in Vienna. The value of these assets amounts to more than 20 billion euros.
Another subsidiary, Signa Development Selection AG, is in the same situation and will in turn file a request for reorganization proceedings on Friday. It specializes in real estate transactions of office space, housing and hotels, mainly around Vienna Central Station, and its assets amount to 4.6 billion euros according to its website.
The former social-democratic Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and the far-right former vice-chancellor Susanne Riess-Hahn, married to the European budget commissioner Johannes Hahn, are members of the supervisory boards of these two subsidiaries. A few days ago, the administrator responsible for turning around the group announced the upcoming valuation of the holding company’s private jet, its shares in the media and in the emblematic Chrysler Tower in New York. Among the richest men in Austria, René Benko enjoys social life and his proximity to the political class has gotten him into trouble in the past. In 2020, he had to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating his links to senior conservative and far-right officials, as part of a vast corruption scandal. No proceedings have yet been initiated once morest him.
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