Explosive report – situation in the Benko empire “worse than feared”

In its latest issue, the German ‘Manager Magazin’ found sufficient room for a settlement with René Benko and his main allies at the financially ailing Signa Group: ‘The restructuring of the Benko empire under self-management can be considered a failure, because the situation there is still worse than feared,” writes the business medium. And: “Distrust among donors against an Austrian connection by older men is growing.”

Self-proclaimed “Geriatrics Club”
Specifically, the magazine focuses on the activities of Hans Peter Haselsteiner, 79, and the new Signa Prime board member Erhard Grossnigg, 77, who – as already reported by the Krone – have a joint headquarters in the center of Vienna. “The office community calls itself the ‘Geriatrics Club’ and, incredibly, is located at Walfischgasse 5,” the article said.

Hans Peter Haselsteiner, who owns 14 percent of the bankrupt holding company through a private foundation, ‘even publicly advertised for money for a massive loan in an almost bizarre conversation with the Handelsblatt. He says he can imagine giving money. But he still owes a deposit of around 50 million euros, which he committed to in the summer as part of a call into Signa Holding’s capital reserves.

“Super Spusi” by Haselsteiner
Grossnigg, in turn, is “considered by other Signa shareholders as Haselsteiner’s ‘super spusi’,” notes “Manager Magazin.” In relation to insiders, he is said to have thrown the old Signa property boss out the door in order to ‘have a clear path’. In any case, the expulsion of the top manager ‘fueled the fear that the Austrians around Haselsteiner and Grossnigg wanted to get the best out of bankruptcy for themselves.’ It is also reported: ‘Nothing is moving forward after the three bankruptcies under home rule. management, neither financially nor in terms of the numbers of dormant construction sites. The danger of self-service is only increasing. The shareholders therefore regard the fact that Signa will be restructured under self-management as a bad joke.”

Begging letters and flight movements
Grossnigg recently attracted attention for his idiosyncratic begging letters to investors. Signa Holding, which is over-indebted by around five billion euros, is making headlines with almost bizarre auctions of office inventory. And René Benko still uses his oversized private plane, owned by one of his foundations, to commute between Innsbruck and Vienna.

Such flights with a Global Express jet can be very expensive, not to mention the negative impact on the climate. According to insider calculations – based on 300 flying hours per year – a total cost of 4.175 million euros is possible.