The recent sale of the department store juggler has also drawn international media attention to Austria. Even the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (NZZ) devoted large format reporting to Rene Benko after the delicate deal with Kika/Leiner, after all his Signa was “accused of delaying the bankruptcy”.
The quality medium, which traditionally analyzes soberly, found that “tempers are running high” in Austria. And: Signa scored “an own goal” with the sale of Kika-Leiner.
Because: There have been “indications for some time now that Signas’ finances could come under pressure as a result of the courageous expansion strategy of recent years. This is probably one of the reasons why the company emphasized that Kika/Leiner was ‘a very good investment’.”
“wide outrage”
It was precisely this assessment as a “very good investment” that “caused widespread outrage” and proved to be a “boomerang” for Signa, according to the “NZZ”. Probably also for Benko himself, who is known to enjoy using private jets and 62-meter yachts and who should have fueled the debate over a wealth tax in recent days.
The “NZZ” noted: “A mass layoff, while Signa had recently made a profit according to its own statements, prompted, for example, the Austrian Social Democrats to demand another millionaires’ tax in parliament, namely ‘for the richest in the world’ Austria.” The representatives of other parties were also upset, only the conservative ÖVP did not express outrage.
By the way: former chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer holds important supervisory positions at both Signa and Strabag as president. Strabag founder Hans Peter Haselsteiner is a major investor in Signa. The Raiffeisen banking group, which according to “Spiegel” lent the Signa group a total of about two billion euros, is considered the most important Signa lender in Austria. Media holdings such as the “Kurier” also belong to the Raiffeisen empire.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
