This is how Signa Holding’s billion-dollar debt will be paid: Benko’s empire sells the private jet and the Chrysler Building

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Tyrolean real estate investor René Benko (46) owes five billion euros to creditors of the bankrupt Signa Holding. On Tuesday afternoon, the meeting of creditors of the bankrupt group of companies, which also holds half of the Swiss department store chain Globus, took place at the Vienna Commercial Court. Restructuring manager Christof Stapf explained how at least part of the sum should be repaid.

273 creditors are still waiting for money from Signa Group. Swiss bank Julius Baer and Migros Cooperative Union (MGB) are also included in this list. In its first interim report, Stapf announced that it would make rapid sales to at least partially cover its liabilities. For example, media holdings in Austria’s “Kurier” and “Krone” newspapers and the private jet Cessna Citation XLS will disappear. There are also discussions about selling properties in the US, including the iconic 77-story Chrysler Building in New York.

20 percent of the compensation must be paid

“Existing contracts that are not absolutely necessary will be terminated,” Stapf said. This refers to Signa Group’s lease and rental agreements. The company will move from its Vienna headquarters in Palais Harrach and Palais Ferstel. According to the Signa financial plan, the first one alone costs 425,115 euros per year. The holding company currently has eight employees; the remaining 34 people have already been laid off.

As Stapf reports, drastic measures are desperately needed: The holding company’s current financial resources are not enough to survive the bankruptcy process. Even the 3 million euro grants promised by René Benko, some of which have already been made, are not enough. However, liquidity requirements are not yet fully known.

A total of 30 percent of the claims, approximately 1.5 billion euros, are planned to be repaid within two years. As of Tuesday, 43 creditors had reported a total of 1.13 billion euros. However, the last registration date is January 15.

As Stapf noted on Tuesday, whether the restructuring plan will actually work depends on further research. There are many business transactions from the current year that require disclosure.

The biggest bankruptcy in Austria

Signa Holding’s bankruptcy proceedings are the largest bankruptcy case to date in Austria. On November 29, the group of companies applied for a restructuring process under self-management. Lawyer Stapf receives 15 million euros for two and a half months of work as restructuring manager. This means approximately 200,000 euros per day.

Signa stated in its bankruptcy filing that it had 53 direct investments and “several hundred” indirect investments. According to Stapf, the group’s preliminary organizational chart consists of 46 pages in A3 format! Before the meeting, Stapf said there was a lack of comprehensively knowledgeable management capacity in middle management. The holding company has recently only partially exercised its control function.

It is still unclear what will happen to the Globus store. It has been half-owned by Signa and Thai Central Group for three years. A complete takeover of Central Group may be considered. At the beginning of December, CEO Franco Savastano (57) was confident that a solution would soon be found for Signa stock.

Source :Blick