Steinhoff International puts loss-making Austrian chain Kika-Leiner’s properties up for sale
The chain’s properties are the focus of the deal, but Steinhoff is throwing in Kika-Leiner’s stock and other assets ‘for a nominal amount’
Steinhoff International hopes to sell the properties owned by Kika-Leiner, an Austrian retailer acquired in 2013 for shares valued at €375m, to Austrian real estate group Signa. To sweeten the deal, Steinhoff proposes to include Kika-Leiner’s stock and other assets in the property sale to Signa for a "nominal amount". According to Austrian newspaper Daily Oesterreich, Signa has agreed to pay about €500m for Kika-Leiner. Founded by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko, Signa already owns about 125 retail stores, including German department store Karstadt. Reuters reported that Benko bought Kika-Leiner’s flagship store in central Vienna shortly after the Steinhoff crisis erupted in December. "The Kika-Leiner business is currently loss-making and placed significant cash demands on the wider group. Further, any turnaround plan for Kika-Leiner would have required significant new investment from the group over a number of years," Steinhoff said in a media release on Friday morning. When the ...
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