According to an important investor, many creditors of the insolvent parts of the Signa Group could get away with a black eye. “If the restructuring is successful, (…), I believe the creditors will have to accept very modest losses,” said Signa investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner on Wednesday evening on the ORF news program ‘ZiB2’, with a view to construction companies and craftsmen . The losers are mainly the investors and the large institutional investors. He also often asks himself, “How could this happen to me?” Haselsteiner holds 15 percent of the insolvent Signa Holding, making him one of the largest shareholders.
At the moment the aim is to sell the numerous valuable properties as best as possible. “We simply don’t want bargain hunters and vultures to be allowed in now,” said Haselsteiner. The aim is to have a proper recycling process in order to optimize the proceeds and minimize the damage. It is clear: “It is always damage that is minimized and not a rescue of the company in the sense of the word.”
The Austrian investor and Signa founder René Benko himself lost a large part of his assets. Even though Benko officially left Signa’s management committee years ago, from his point of view the 46-year-old bears full responsibility for the development. Benko was the de facto managing director, Haselsteiner continued. “He just had the reins in his hand.” When asked how the investor, who had disappeared from the public eye, was doing, Haselsteiner said: “I think he is desperate and of course he is fighting for an attitude.”
The most important parts of the Signa Group founded by Benko had filed for bankruptcy in the past few weeks. In particular, the interest rate turnaround had affected the company, which was operating with high loans, and ultimately triggered a spectacular downward spiral. Benko’s empire also included the now also insolvent department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. (dpa)