2024-04-07 21:37:57
The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is in bankruptcy proceedings. But several prospective buyers have submitted offers. One person knows the company particularly well.
The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhaus is for sale. A businessman from the USA is also probably interested in the company. As “Wirtschaftswoche” reports, Richard Baker and his company NRDC could imagine taking over Galeria.
He would have experience, because before the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof, Baker had already been the owner of Galeria Kaufhof for several years through the Canadian retail chain Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), which was part of his portfolio. At that time, the company was clearly going downhill and HBC decided to sell to the Signa Group, headed by René Benko.
Administrator has a tight schedule
As the Galeria insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus announced last week, there are still two interested parties in the running. “Both interested parties have extensive experience in German retail and also have the funds required for the upcoming investment,” he said. It is still not known who the other interested party is.
Denkhaus wants to get the bankruptcy process going quickly. “We want to present an insolvency plan by the end of April. After an examination by the Essen district court, the creditors’ meeting is scheduled to make a decision on May 28th,” he told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. A core element of this restructuring plan is the sale of the company to an investor.
In the Tagesschau, the insolvency administrator said on Tuesday: “Our goal is to certify in the next week and then communicate in the next week which of the two candidates has been awarded the contract.” If the meeting of creditors accepts the insolvency plan, it must be reconfirmed by the insolvency court. The court can then cancel the insolvency proceedings.
Galeria’s third bankruptcy
Galeria filed for insolvency at the Essen district court at the beginning of January. The court opened the insolvency proceedings on Monday. It is the third bankruptcy within three and a half years.
There are currently 92 branches. How many there will be in the future is still unclear. According to Denkhaus, it will involve taking over at least “60 plus X” branches. “We don’t yet know how big this X is,” he said last week. The company, which previously belonged to the Signa Group, currently employs around 12,800 people. The amount of rent is considered to be crucial for the preservation of the respective branches.