Signa: Successor to Gusenbauer, bankruptcy as an option

Important decisions in the insolvent Signa Group will be made on Wednesday at the Vienna Hotel Park Hyatt. The extraordinary general meeting of Signa Development (construction projects) is at 9 a.m. and that of Signa Prime (upscale real estate) at 11 a.m. The shareholders decide on the management bodies.

Former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer is stepping down as chairman of the company’s supervisory board, as are the supervisory board members Wüstenrot boss Susanne Riess-Hahn, ex-Raiffeisen Bank International boss Karl Sevelda and ex-Bank Austria general director Karl Sonntag. Restructuring manager Erhard Grossnigg, who has been on the board of Signa since December, is also leaving. So new supervisory boards are elected and a new board is appointed. It is said that a real estate manager with many years of experience should move into the latter.

The shareholders also vote on the restructuring procedures with the trust solutions. As reported, the majority of creditors gave this the OK in March. The restructuring plans provide for a minimum quota of 30 percent. The assets will be transferred to the restructuring managers Norbert Abel (Prime) and Andrea Fruhstorfer (Development), who will sell them within five years, with the proceeds going to the creditors.

Grossnigg believes resistance among shareholders is possible. If the trust solution is rejected, the restructuring procedures would turn into bankruptcies.

That is the crucial question, says Karl-Heinz Götze from the creditor protection association KSV1870. Like Finance Procurator President Wolfgang Peschorn, he would have preferred bankruptcies. “The proceedings, especially those relating to claims for damages, will probably take longer than five years,” says Götze. There is legal uncertainty.

Gerhard Weinhofer from the creditor protection association Creditreform is in favor of the trust solution. Management is needed for exploitation. “And according to the report, the real estate market will recover, which speaks against a quick settlement.” He would be surprised if the agreed trust solution were rejected.

The shareholder structure of Prime and Development is complex. The Haselsteiner Private Foundation, the German RAG Foundation and Peugeot Invest are involved. Signa founder Rene Benko does not formally hold the majority – his companies are backed by a private foundation of which he is not officially the beneficiary.