Signa bankruptcy Signa insolvency court gives green light for Selfridges sale

The insolvency court in Vienna has given the green light for the sale of Signa's shares in the British department store chain Selfridges. All shares were sold to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The insolvency court's approval was granted on Tuesday (yesterday), the restructuring administrator confirmed on Wednesday. "The sale of the shares in Selfridges is the result of intensive negotiations," said the Abel law firm. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has acquired 40 percent of Selfridges.

The remaining 60 percent and thus the majority of Selfridges belongs to the Thai Central Group. The ownership structure applies to both the operating companies and the real estate companies of the department store group, as can be read on the website of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Central Group was thus able to announce a solution for further luxury department stores in which it was involved with the collapsed Signa Group of Austrian investor René Benko. At the end of September, the Thai group announced the purchase of Signa's stake in Globus' operating business, making it the sole owner of the Swiss department store chain.

Standstill in Vienna

In June 2024, the Central Group had already taken over the entire business operations of the German luxury department stores KaDeWe (Berlin), Oberpollinger (Munich) and Alsterhaus (Hamburg).

However, there has not yet been any noticeable movement in the abandoned Signa construction site for the Lamarr department store in Vienna. The KaDeWe Group was once intended to operate the planned shopping temple. The Lamarr is owned equally by Signa and the Central Group through interlocking structures. The building is currently a ruin.

Specifically, Signa Prime Capital Invest GmbH and Skyred Holding 9, based in Luxembourg, each hold 50 percent of the insolvent "Mariahilfer Strasse 10-18 GmbH", according to the "WirtschaftsCompass" company register. The former is a subsidiary of the insolvent Signa Prime Selection AG, the latter a subsidiary of the Central Group.

SDA