Rene Benko is retiring as head of the Signa advisory board

As reported, Tyrolean investor Rene Benko is about to step down as chairman of the advisory board of Signa Holding. The German restructuring expert Arndt Geiwitz will take his place as general representative, Signa shareholder Hans-Peter Haselsteiner told the “Ö1-Mittagsjournal” on Friday. “The shareholders have acknowledged this step in a positive and positive manner.” Signa could not be reached at short notice for a comment in response to an APA request.

Also read:

• Mr. Benko’s seven construction sites [OÖNplus]
• Benkos Signa Holding made a loss of over 500 million euros in 2022
• Benko’s most important man [OÖNplus]

Several shareholders, including Haselsteiner, had asked Benko in a personal letter to withdraw from the Signa Holding advisory board and to transfer his voting rights in trust. “This request was fundamentally answered positively by Benko,” said Haselsteiner.

For his part, Benko now wants to know “whether the shareholders would also be willing to make a contribution to the restructuring of the group with such a far-reaching solution,” added Haselsteiner. The Tyrolean investor has basically agreed to the course and the shareholders’ demands, “but not yet completely”. The talks are still ongoing and, according to Haselsteiner, a solution could be reached over the coming weekend.

Haselsteiner also justified the investors’ appeal to withdraw from the “Standard” (online) by saying that a “second Kika/Leiner” should be prevented. Kika/Leiner was taken over by Signa in 2018. In the summer, the furniture chain slipped into bankruptcy just days after selling Signa to new owners.

According to a report in the “Kronen Zeitung” (online), Benko has already handed over his Signa voting rights to Geiwitz. Geiwitz had previously been brought on board by Benko as a restructuring consultant. His appointment followed a series of turmoil surrounding the Signa Group. For example, Signa Sports United, the online sporting goods retailer based around Benko, got into trouble, and there were also increasing reports of losses from the real estate division. Most recently, the construction of the Elbtower in Hamburg apparently had to be stopped due to payment difficulties at Signa Prime.

Benko has no operational role on paper, but holds shares in the group directly and indirectly through foundations. The investment structures are complex and there are no consolidated financial statements for the group of companies. According to the company register, the Haselstein family private foundation holds 15 percent of the holding shares, Fressnapf Luxembourg around 4.5 percent and the Swiss manager Ernst Tanner around 3 percent – they all spoke out in the letter in favor of Benko’s withdrawal.

Marcus Mühlberger and Christoph Stadlhuber are the managing directors of Signa Holding. Members of the advisory board include ex-Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ), Wüstenrot boss and ex-politician (FPÖ) Susanne Riess-Hahn, ex-Casinos Austria boss Karl Stoss and ex-RBI boss Karl Sevelda.

Gusenbauer, who is also chairman of the supervisory boards of Signa Prime Selection and Signa Development Selection, could not be reached by telephone today when asked by APA. He told the “Presse” (online) about the events surrounding Benko and Geiwitz: “Communication is carried out by the shareholders and the managing directors. As soon as something is presented to me that is ready for decision, I will discuss it in the committees who I am.”