Cheap birth? – “Dirty” shops with state cleaning company

At the end of 2020, the company was sold for only 180,793 euros to one of its directors, namely Andreas Reiner, who previously worked in the office of the then governor Hans Niessl (SPÖ) and as FMB director. The FMB was initially valued by accountants at 346,300 to 733,500 euros. The non-binding highest bid of a bidder was 634,000 euros. According to the RH, a higher sale price could have been achieved if the transaction had been executed quickly and carefully.

RV: „Company sold below minimum value“
In July 2020, the then managing director offered 230,793 euros for the shares and 50,000 euros for investments from the assets of Landesimmobilien Burgenland GmbH (LIB). The LIB has commissioned an accountancy firm to carry out a valuation, whereby the enterprise value based on three scenarios would amount to between EUR 346,300 and EUR 733,500. Because the purchase price negotiated with the director was judged to be too low, the LIB commissioned an accountancy firm to look for other potential buyers. In short, the procedure did not lead to results, which is why Reiner was contacted again in December 2020. He eventually submitted an offer to buy at a discount of 23 percent – the company was subsequently sold to him for 180,793 euros plus 40,000 euros for parts of the LIB fixed assets. “The purchase price was therefore below the established minimum enterprise value,” according to the accountants.

High additional costs
At the same time, LIB entered into cleaning services contracts, which guaranteed the purchaser a minimum turnover for three years. There were also costs associated with the sale of at least €92,179 – more than 50 per cent of the sale proceeds, as the RH stated and explained: “In business sales, care must be taken to ensure that the costs incurred are in an economic and reasonable proportion to the sale proceeds. ” since March 2019 State Councilor Heinrich Dorner, before that the current State Governor Hans Peter Doskosil (both SPÖ) for a year.

Successor company rejects criticism
LIB director Gerald Goger rejected the criticism, criticizing the RH’s failure to take “essential facts” into account. With Ernst & Young, one of the most renowned accountancy firms supported the sale and always acted in accordance with the recommendations of the consultant. The RH did not take this into account in its investigation, nor did “other documents relevant to the decision”: “This means that the result of the investigation is more than relative for us.” According to Goger, the RH was made aware of “flagrant errors in recording the facts”, but these were not corrected.

LIB’s general manager was satisfied with the sales of FMB and the process: “From today’s perspective, given the market conditions at the time, sales were satisfactory.”

Criticism from ÖVP and FPÖ
The ÖVP, on the other hand, felt that their criticism was confirmed in a response: “For example, it has been confirmed by an official body that the sole government of the SPÖ has sold state property and, of course, within its own sphere of influence,” said the ÖVP. state manager Patrik Fazekas, describing a “mess mess”, spoke. FPÖ state party chairman Alexander Petschnig also demanded: “Someone in the Doskozil-SPÖ will have to take responsibility for this scandal.” The Court’s report would prove the “incredible destruction of national wealth”.

“FMB’s sales process was transparent and complied with all standards. This is also evidenced by the fact that the prosecutor’s office has not even launched an investigation due to a lack of initial suspicion,” explains club boss Robert Hergovich. In the report, there is “no evidence of financial damage or neglected due diligence,” he stressed.