Signa Declares Insolvency, Mubadala Wants €1 Billion Back
Posted on 12/20/2023
Signa is one of the world’s largest conglomerates. It operates in several divisions focused on luxury hotels, department stores, restaurants, and residential buildings. Unfortunately, Signa has declared insolvency. It was unable to raise cash quickly enough, and it is left owing creditors €5 billion.
Signa Real Estate operates from eleven locations in Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The gross asset value of the real estate group amounts to around €27 billion. Signa Prime Selection AG owns a portfolio of exclusive real estate properties in prime inner-city locations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Northern Italy and the UK. Signa Development Selection AG invests in development projects in major urban centers, primarily in the German-speaking region and Northern Italy. These include office blocks and towers, residential complexes, retail spaces and hotels. Signa says it pursues a “buy – develop – sell” strategy.
Signa RFR US Selection AG was set up to acquire “trophy assets” in New York and other U.S. cities. Signa Luxury Hotels operates in central European locations. Signa also boats a retail group called The KaDeWe Group. It is a luxury department store group in the brick-and-mortar retail sector in Germany with three department stores: the KaDeWe in Berlin, the Oberpollinger in Munich and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg. Restaurants and other stores fill out Signa’s portfolio.
Austria’s Rene Benko controls the group. The Austrian Chancellor shrugged off the news, saying merely that his concern was that the banks “stay stable.”
Mubadala Investment Company is seeking €1 billion for money it feels it is owed. The status of that claim will likely remain unresolved for some time to come.
