10.8 billion euros in debt at Signa Prime, all friends gone: until recently, real estate juggler René Benko was a favorite of political celebrities. Now there isn’t much left of his splendor, his former circles remain embarrassed and silent.
In 2019, the high-flyer also landed overseas. René Benkos Signa and a US company acquire the Chrysler Building, a world-famous real estate gem in Manhattan – 319 meters high. A prestige property for 120 million. Before that we were in Abu Dhabi. “And then we bought the Chrysler Building from the local sovereign wealth fund,” said Benko. He was at his peak. Courted by important people, including from the highest political circles. The advisory board of his Signa Holding includes well-known bankers, consultants, ex-Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) and ex-Vice Chancellor Susanne Riess-Hahn (FPÖ). She recently praised him as a “cautious and risk-conscious financial manager”. Investors and the ECB, which examines bank liabilities, see things differently. Things are becoming increasingly quiet around the long-praised investor. He has to withdraw. A restructuring will take place without him. A lot of work awaits. Now the 2022 balance sheet of the Signa Prime Group, the largest subgroup, has finally been announced. It has debts of over 10.8 billion euros! The loss in 2022 was already a whopping billion. Sebastian Kurz is also a close confidante of Benko. The former ÖVP chancellor was in the Arab region with Benko and is supposed to act as a door opener for investors. There are said to have been further attempts since 2022. Benko cannot admit any mistakes. But how is Benko? Apparently his biggest problem is that he can’t admit his mistakes, we hear from investors. He should have come to terms with his own past. But he couldn’t do that. It was also difficult to make a 180 degree turn. “Benko is always focused on ‘things will continue’ and optimism.” This is great in phases of growth, but not when you have to restructure a company and the banks no longer provide liquidity. The renovation still needs to be done and will take one to two years. According to investors, it is important that the industry regains trust in the company. He “recorded his disempowerment professionally.” Gusenbauer, chairman of the Signa advisory board, did not want to comment when asked.Törggelen and Putin: memories are fadingIt’s a deep case. In 2018, Vladimir Putin was a guest in Vienna. Sebastian Kurz introduced important people – including René Benko. In the words: “One of the most important entrepreneurs in the country.” The aura is crumbling. The famous Törggelen, a South Tyrolean Thanksgiving festival that attracts celebrities from all walks of life, could also come to an end. Benko’s Park Hyatt venue in Vienna’s city center is also said to be for sale. Outlook – Why Benko’s exit is without alternative. On Thursday it became known that major Signa investors were demanding the founder’s withdrawal in an incendiary letter. On Friday, Hans Peter Haselsteiner, who holds 15 percent of the holding, increased the pressure. On Saturday, investors were still negotiating the details of the exit. Benko wants investors to inject more money to prevent the group from going bankrupt – and to get rid of liabilities at the same time. From the perspective of the financiers, the Tyrolean’s exit is absolutely necessary so that there can finally be transparency in Signa and the renovator Arndt Geiwitz can start his clean-up work. Why is there no alternative to Benko’s exit? If he doesn’t withdraw, there is a risk of a domino of bankruptcy in many of them over 1000 Signa companies. In every insolvent company, an administrator would have to realize the assets (often real estate). Above all, the liquidator would have to check the payment flows and asset transfers between the Signa companies. And in the recently completed Kika/Leiner insolvency, Benko discovered that liquidators, creditors’ committees and bankruptcy judges are relatively humorless when it comes to liability. Signa has to add 20 million to Kika/Leiner.
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