The wave of bankruptcies at René Benkos Signa continues. As announced on Thursday, the company’s subsidiary SportScheck also had to file for bankruptcy. This is now Signa’s third bankruptcy within a week.
The company will file for bankruptcy at the Munich District Court on Thursday, the company confirmed corresponding information from the “Handelsblatt” and the “Immobilienzeitung”.
The step was necessary because Signa Holding could no longer meet its “contractual payment obligation” due to the bankruptcy application filed on Wednesday, SportScheck justified the step. As a result, the sports retailer is bankrupt.
British takeover off the table
The original plan was to sell the company to British sports and fashion retailer Frasers, but that plan has now been shelved. SportScheck confirmed that the takeover process was open again. Other potential investors have now shown interest in the acquisition of SportScheck.
The branches continue to function normally
The company, which has 34 branches throughout Germany and an annual turnover of around 350 million euros, will continue to exist at least temporarily: all branches, customer service and the online store will continue to function normally. Managing director Matthias Rucker said the bankruptcy was bitter, but also an opportunity to sustainably strengthen the company with its contractual partners and creditors. The restructuring and investment process should be completed by March at the latest.
Already third bankruptcy
Last Friday, the first domino fell around the financially ailing Signa Group of the real estate juggler when Signa Real Estate Germany had to file for bankruptcy in Germany. Signa Holding GmbH in Austria followed on Wednesday.
As the creditor protection association KSV1870 subsequently confirmed, the real estate and department store speculator wants to realize a restructuring process with self-management in order to achieve “orderly continuation of operational management”.
The future of thousands of employees is in doubt
In the meantime, the question also arises as to what will happen next to the thousands of employees. Only a few days before Christmas will it become clear how realistic the financial plan presented is, says curator Christof Stapf, who expresses his expectations.
Only during the reporting meeting on December 19 “will it be assessed how realistic the presented financial plan is and whether a restructuring plan can be achieved,” he explained in a statement on Thursday.
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.
