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René Benko

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René Benko (born 20 May 1977) is a bankrupt Austrian real estate, media and retail investor, and was the founder of the Signa Holding. The company was considered Austria's largest privately held real estate conglomerate.[1][2] Benko was considered one of the richest Austrians.[3][4] Numerous controversies have surrounded Benko’s professional career. In March 2024 Benko declared personal insolvency.[5]

René Benko
Born (1977-05-20) 20 May 1977 (age 47)
Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
Occupation(s)Real estate, media and retail investor
Years active1999–present
Known forFounder of Signa Holding
Term2013–present
SpouseMarried
Children4
WebsiteProfile at SIGNA Group

The Liechtenstein public prosecutor's office has stated that criminal proceedings have been opened against Benko.[6]

Life

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Benko was born in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria as the son of a local government employee and nursery schoolteacher.[7] At the age of 17 he gained his first experience of the real estate sector in a building company owned by an acquaintance.[8]

Benko lives mainly in Innsbruck. He is married for a second time and has four children. Apart from that, little is known about Benko's private life.[9]

Part of his assets lie with "Laura", Benko's private foundation. The foundation was named after his daughter Laura. Benko owns a painting by Picasso and the yacht "Roma" worth around 40 million euros.[10]

Network

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Before his bankruptcy, Benko maintained an extensive network of contacts in Austrian politics. Alfred Gusenbauer, former SPÖ chancellor, said he was friends with Benko. He was member of the advisory board of Signa Holding. Susanne Riess-Hahn, former FPÖ vice chancellor, was also on the Signa Holding advisory board.[10]

Business activities

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Foundation and first investments

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Kaufhaus Tyrol department store

At the end of 1999 Benko founded the two-person company Immofina Holding, which was renamed Signa Holding in 2006.[11]

The first projects included the extension of attics into luxury apartments and the profitable purchase and sale of the health hotel Lanserhof in Lans.[12] After these successes, the Viennese entrepreneur Karl Kovarik, who inherited several gas stations, contributed to the first financial jump-start with 25 million euros.[13]

The next steps included the purchase of 16 inner-city properties from the portfolio of BAWAG P.S.K. bank in 2007, as well as the opening of medical centers in Vienna, and the acquisition of the Kaufhaus Tyrol, which was completely renovated between 2007 and 2010.[14] The planning of the latter was carried out by the renowned architect David Chipperfield. In 2008, the former headquarters of Länderbank and Bank Austria became the property of Signa Holding and was converted into the Park Hyatt Vienna hotel.[15] In 2011, the company bought the Oberpollinger department store in Munich. Furthermore, a portfolio of buildings consisting of KaDeWe and Karstadt properties was acquired in 2012. Following these investments, Signa bought the commercial businesses of KaDeWe in 2013, and Karstadt in 2014.

Expansion towards a holding company

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On 18 June 2013, Benko retired from the operational leadership of Signa Holding and took over the chairmanship of the Advisory Board of the Signa Group,[16] shortly before his conviction for bribery was confirmed by the Austrian criminal appeals court. The conviction, a suspended 12-month prison sentence, was later confirmed by the Austrian Supreme Court.[17]

In 2013, the new company division Signa Retail was founded. With the acquisition of the Karstadt department store chain in 2014, as well as several online and multi-channel retailers, Benkos Signa Holding became a significant company in the retail sector.[18] Since 2014, several projects have been completed in Austria and other European countries. Another milestone was the approval of the WaltherPark shopping center in Bolzano in 2016 by a referendum, there have also been further expansions in e-commerce since 2017,[19] such as the acquisition of Probikeshop or hood.de.[20]

After the acquisition of the Austrian furniture chain Kika-Leiner with around 6500 employees in June 2018,[21] negotiations on the acquisition of the department store chain Kaufhof were resumed in July 2018 by Signa Holding under the leadership of René Benko.[22] On 11 September, the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof was officially confirmed.[23] Soon after this merger the public debate around the acquisition and Benko's business practices in general intensified.[24]

In November 2018, the first investment in the media sector was announced through the acquisition of shares in the Austrian daily newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Kurier by Signa Holding.[25]

 
The Chrysler Building's distinctive Art Deco crown and spire

In March 2019, Benko's Signa Holding, together with RFR Holding, acquired the Chrysler Building in New York City for an estimated amount of $150 million. This is René Benko's first major investment in the United States.[26] A month later, the Technical Commission of the South Tyrol regional government approved the sale of Bolzano Airport to a company owned by Benko, Bolzano entrepreneur Josef Gostner and Strabag founder Hans Peter Haselsteiner.[27]

In mid-2019, Benko's Signa Holding acquired the remaining shares in Galeria Kaufhof. These were held by Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Company, who thus withdrew from the European market.[28] French investment holding company Société Foncière, Financière et de Participations, which manages the Peugeot family's holdings, acquired a 5% stake in Signa Prime Selection for €186 million.[29] The Hotel Bauer Palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice was acquired in 2020 by Benko's Signa Group, which is thus expanding its hotel portfolio.[30][31]

In 2021, Signa acquired the British luxury department stores of Selfridges in a joint venture with Central Group.[32] This will extend their already existing shared portfolio of luxury department stores across European countries. Moreover, Signa Sports United completed its business combination with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation and started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 15 December 2021.[33]

In 2023, Signa sold 49.9 percent of the KaDeWe to the Central group.[34]

Signa bankruptcies administration

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In November 2023 Signa Holding's shareholders and lenders confirmed that Benko is to step down. Signa Prime Selection GMBH is in receivership following a insurmountable liquidity crisis due to a 10.3 Billion Euro extraordinary debt charge and impossibility to honor loans and debt as of November 2023.[35] Most assets belonging to Signa have subsequently been sold or entered receivership including Signa Sport United in the US or Kaufhof in Germany / Austria. The flagship Elbtower in Hamburg is being auctioned to the lending banks. Benko is now under investigation in Austria, Germany and Italy for fraudulent bankruptcy and money laundering.[36]

In February 2024, The Wall Street Journal stated that "Appraisers valued the company’s office properties at 41 times the income they produced in 2021, corporate filings show. Comparable publicly traded office companies’ property portfolios were valued around 20 to 25 times income, according to Green Street, a real-estate advisory firm."[37]

Construction has been halted on the 800-foot high Elbtower in Hamburg.[38] Signa's branding still appears on the site's fence although it is now heavily decorated in graffiti.[citation needed]

Awards

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  • 2011: Tyrolean of the Year by the Regional Governor Günther Platter[39]
  • 2012 and 2018: Man of the Year by the Austrian Business Magazine Trend[40]
  • 2018: Strategist of the Year by the German Business Magazine Handelsblatt; Roland Berger wrote the contribution.[41]
  • 2018: Man of the Year by Across, a European business magazine for the retail and real estate industries[42]
  • 2019: Pentola d’Oro International by Il Quotidiano Immobiliare, a professional industry journal[43]

References

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  1. ^ "Signa Holding GmbH - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  2. ^ Tuma, Thomas (25 March 2021). "Immobilien: Benkos Geldregen: Signa Holding meldet überraschend hohen Gewinn" [Real estate: Benko's windfall: Signa Holding reports surprisingly high profit]. Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Die 100 reichsten Österreicher 2018" [The 100 richest Austrians 2018]. Trend (in German). 26 July 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Rene Benko". Forbes. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  5. ^ Signa Founder Benko Files for Personal Insolvency in Austria. Bloomberg, 7 Mar 2024
  6. ^ Liechtenstein opens criminal proceedings against Benko, Kronen Zeitung, 11.04.2024 20:30
  7. ^ Putzier, Konrad (23 July 2019). "Meet the Other Man Who Bought the Chrysler Building". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Der Herr über Wolkenkratzer, Kaufhäuser - und jetzt auch Zeitungen". Der Spiegel (in German). 14 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Rene Benko - Tiroler Selfmade-Milliardär mit Hang zum Luxus" [Rene Benko - Tyrolean self-made billionaire with a penchant for luxury]. Die Presse (in German). 12 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b Vichtl, Wolfgang. "Welche Verbindungen René Benko zur Politik pflegte". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Immobilien-Shootingstar Benko: aus "Immofina" wird "Signa"" [Real estate shooting star Benko: "Immofina" becomes "Signa]. fondsprofessionell.at (in German). 23 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  12. ^ Jensen, Sören (22 November 2013). "Portrait René Benko: Bubenstück - was Benko vorhat" [Portrait René Benko: Jack of all trades - what Benko is up to]. Manager Magazin (in German). Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  13. ^ "René Benko - der Mann hinter der Globus-Übernahme" [René Benko - the man behind the Globus takeover]. finanzen.ch (in German). 28 May 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  14. ^ Roscher, Franziska (3 June 2015). "Real estate: The Slippery Mr. Benko". Handelsblatt. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Vienna, an exciting new chapter in the evolution of Park Hyatt Hotels". cpp-luxury.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  16. ^ "René Benko". GRI Club Platform. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  17. ^ "OGH bestätigt Benko-Verurteilung wegen Korruption". Die Presse (in German). 11 August 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Austrian Benko buys Germany's Karstadt, set for overhaul". Reuters. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  19. ^ "WaltherPark Bozen". polis Award. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Capitalizing on the current bike boom with online retailing". Bike Europe. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Kika/Leiner property assets in Austria acquired by the Signa Group". Lawyer Monthly | Legal News Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: Signa Holding von René Benko kauft alle Anteile" [Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: René Benko's Signa Holding buys all shares]. Manager Magazin (in German). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Gigant Galeria braucht Hunderte Millionen Euro Staatskredit". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Real estate mogul René Benko faces a more critical spotlight". Financial Times. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Zeitungsbeteiligungen: Was Benko mit "Krone" und "Kurier" vorhat". ORF (in German). 12 November 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  26. ^ Brumpton, Greg Roumeliotis, Harry (9 March 2019). "Austria's Signa partners with RFR to buy New York's Chrysler Building: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 16 September 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "Flughafen an Gostner und Co. – Die Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung" [Airport to Gostner and Co. - Die Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung]. Tageszeitung Online. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  28. ^ Levine-Weinberg, Adam (11 June 2019). "Hudson's Bay Stock Soars 43% on Buyout Interest and Exit From Europe". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Mit 186 Millionen Euro : Gebrüder Peugeot steigen mit 5 Prozent bei Benkos Signa ein" [186 million euros: Peugeot brothers take a 5 percent stake in Benko's Signa company]. Kleine Zeitung (in German). 19 June 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  30. ^ "SIGNA Acquire the Bauer Hotel in Venice". The Hotel Property Team. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  31. ^ Bishop, Adrian (11 June 2020). "Hotel Bauer Palazzo in Venice has new owner". Consorto blog. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Milliardendeal: Signa kauft britische Luxuskaufhauskette Selfridges". Kurier (in German). 26 December 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Investoren hatten SPAC-Deal zuvor abgesichert: Signa Sports United ist jetzt an der Börse". TextilWirtschaft (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  34. ^ web|title=Signa Sells 50% Stake in Berlin Department Store to Central Group CoStar on 13 March 2023]
  35. ^ Carrà, Massimiliano (30 November 2023). "Chi è René Benko, il miliardario di Signa Group che vendeva attici con la promessa di un ascensore". Forbes Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  36. ^ Schumi, Manfred (4 November 2023). "Benko: Die 10,8 Milliarden Euro Schulden der Signa". Kronen Zeitung. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  37. ^ Brown, Eliot; Patrick, Margot; Putzier, Konrad. "The Spectacular Crash of a $30 Billion Property Empire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  38. ^ https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/the-spectacular-crash-of-a-30-billion-property-empire/ar-BB1hZvUU [bare URL]
  39. ^ "Club Tirol - TIROLER DES JAHRES" [Club Tirol - TIROLER OF THE YEAR]. clubtirol.net. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  40. ^ ""trend": Signa-Gründer René Benko ist der "trend"-Mann des Jahres" ["trend": Signa founder René Benko is the "trend" man of the year]. OTS (press release) (in German). Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  41. ^ Roland, Berger (26 December 2018). "Stratege des Jahres: Investor René Benko – Mit Gespür für Geld und Geschäft zum Kaufhaus-Coup" [Strategist of the Year: Investor René Benko - With a flair for money and business to the department store coup]. Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  42. ^ "Man of the Year: René Benko. The Real Estate Tycoon". Across, The European Placemaking Magazine. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  43. ^ "Benko erhält die "Pentola d'Oro"". Dolomiten. 29 March 2019.
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