Wake up at Galeria: The department store chain has been at least partially saved. How many branches will ultimately remain open will be decided at the end of April.
A consortium made up of the US investment company NRDC Equity Partners and the entrepreneur Bernd Beetz is taking over the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain. The two investors sought to take over and finance Galeria as part of an insolvency plan, the group announced on Wednesday in Essen. It is planned that more than 70 of the current 92 branches across Germany will be taken over – but the final decision on this will not be made until the end of April.
It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The takeover is also accompanied by a streamlining of the headquarters in Essen. 450 jobs there, or half of the jobs, are to be lost.
Vote at the Galeria creditors’ meeting at the end of May
According to Galeria managing director Olivier Van den Bossche, the bidding process was “successfully completed” on Tuesday. The notarial certification also took place on Tuesday. The insolvency plan is to be submitted at the end of April, and the creditors’ meeting is expected to vote on it at the end of May.
According to the group, insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus will probably retain control of the group until the end of July – then it will be transferred to the new owners.
The Verdi union has meanwhile expressed its satisfaction with the announcement of an investor for the insolvent department store group. “We welcome the fact that a financially strong investor has obviously been found who wants to maintain Galeria as a whole and has expertise in retail, although our experiences in the past have been quite ambivalent,” said Verdi Federal Executive Board member Silke Zimmer on Wednesday, according to a statement in Berlin.
Verdi for “constructive and job-securing cooperation”
Verdi expects the new owner to invest in the company, maintain the locations and secure long-term jobs for the employees, Zimmer continued. “The new owner should work with the employees to develop and launch a modern future concept that plays to the strengths of the department stores: a wide range of products paired with good advice.”
The general works council declared that it would be available to the new owners “for constructive cooperation that would secure jobs.” It is clear that there will be tough cuts again. “But thousands of jobs will also be preserved,” it said in a statement.
This post is continually updated.
Source: Stern
