Italian firm Borletti Group, the owner of Italy's La Rinascente and France's Printemps department stores, has failed in its attempt to acquire insolvent German retailer Karstadt.
Italian firm Borletti Group, the owner of Italy's La Rinascente and France's Printemps department stores, has failed in its attempt to acquire insolvent German retailer Karstadt.
The Borletti Group had hoped to trump private equity firm Berggruen Holdings in its bid for the troubled retailer. However, in the statement, administrator Klaus Hubert Görg, described Borletti’s bid as 'without substance' and containing 'holes'.
The Highstreet consortium, which owns the majority of Karstadt's stores, will now meet with bondholders on 2 September to finalise the deal with investor Berggruen Holdings, Thomas Schultz, a spokesman for the insolvency administration, told PropertyEU: 'If the bondholders agree on Thursday, Highstreet will then discuss the offer with the mezzanine lenders.' According to Schultz, the lenders are: Mezannine A (unknown), Mezzanine B, organized by Houlihan, and Mezzanine C Whitehall (Goldmann Sachs).
'If all parties agree, a deal could be signed by the end of the week,' Schulz told PropertyEU. Berggruen has committed EUR 65 mln to help drag Karstadt out of insolvency, Schulz added. This is more than the EUR20 mln to EUR 40 mln that Borletti had proposed to the insolvency administration but which the Italian firm had not substantiated, Görg, said in the statement.
The Highstreet consortium, which owns the majority of Karstadt’s stores, has made concessions of more than EUR 400 mln over the next five years, according to Highstreet spokesman Richard Speich, who told PropertyEU that he is 'confident' that a deal can now be reached.
Highstreet comprises Goldman Sachs' Whitehall Funds (51%), Deutsche Bank's RREEF funds (24%), Milan-based Pirelli Real Estate (12%), Generali (11%) and the Borletti Group.
