Enlarge image
René Benko
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa
One of the largest shareholders in the collapsed Signa empire is now also bankrupt. The Benko Family Private Foundation filed for insolvency with the Innsbruck Regional Court on Thursday. This emerges from a message that SPIEGEL has received. It is now the aim of the foundation's board of directors to implement the further measures or necessary steps together with the insolvency administrator, who has yet to be appointed, according to the statement. The Austrian “Standard” had previously reported.
The foundation directly and indirectly owns a large share in the insolvent Signa Holding, which in turn includes Signa Prime and Signa Development, the most important companies in the nested Benko empire. These shares are now hardly worth anything. In addition, according to the statement, the private foundation has “partially taken on financing tasks” and, according to the “Standard,” it has assumed liabilities in connection with other Benko and Signa companies.
Consequently, the private foundation's ability to pay and restructure depended heavily on whether and how Signa itself could be restructured. Although restructuring plans for Signa Prime and Signa Selection were adopted, the statement states, this did not have an impact on the value of the investments. In addition, it was not possible to collect sufficient outstanding claims. “It is therefore currently unclear whether or in what form the applicant can be restructured,” it continues.
According to information from the "Standard", distributions from the foundation have so far gone to Benko's mother, who has paid taxes on them and passed the majority on to her son.
fdi