Media reports indicate the Austrian investor may get injections of liquidity for his troubled real estate empire although right now shadows still loom over several involved Swiss players such as Julius Baer.
René Benko's property group, Signa Holding, is expected to receive a cash infusion of roughly 600 million euros this week, according to German business newspaper «Handelsblatt» (Paywall, German only), citing anonymous sources.
The publication indicates that the interest rate charges on the money will be high and that the assets of Signa company Signa Prime will be pledged against them. The report, however, was not confirmed by Signa itself.
Accelerated Restructuring
The new funds will be used to cover pending and liabilities. By the end of the first half of 2024, Signa has to pay back 1.5 billion euros in debt. The infusion will also be used to accelerate the group's needed restructuring, and which may include the disposal of certain business units or divisions.
At the start of November, Benk resigned from his leadership posts at the company at the request of investors. Since then, a business restructuring specialist has managed the company.
The new money would also take some pressure off certain Swiss players. Zurich-based private bank Julius Baer took a writedown of 82 million francs at the start of the week although it did not specifically name who or what prompted the action. Media reporting subsequently indicated that the bank had helped Signa take over the Swiss department store chain Globus four years ago by lending it more than 500 million francs.
Share Collapse
Clearly, the problems aren't over yet. The market reacted unmercifully to the Julius Baer news yesterday. The bank's share price fell 12 percent in one day.
