A new investor has showed 'serious interest' in acquiring the insolvent German department-store chain Karstadt, administrators told newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine on Sunday. According to Karstadt's insolvency administrator Klaus Hubert Görg, the company has decided to extend the bidding period until May 28 from the previous deadline of April 28 after receiving an expression of interest from an unnamed investor. A formal offer has yet to be submitted, he added.

A new investor has showed 'serious interest' in acquiring the insolvent German department-store chain Karstadt, administrators told newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine on Sunday. According to Karstadt's insolvency administrator Klaus Hubert Görg, the company has decided to extend the bidding period until May 28 from the previous deadline of April 28 after receiving an expression of interest from an unnamed investor. A formal offer has yet to be submitted, he added.

Market rumours point to Goldman Sachs, one of the portfolio landlords, as the potential new buyer. When contacted by PropertyEU on Monday, a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs in Germany declined to comment.

Merrill Lynch, which is managing the sale process, has so far received only one bid from the German-Swedish private equity group Triton. According to those who track the market, Triton has made a knock-down bid of around EUR 30 mln. It is also expected to invest around EUR 60 mln in restructuring the department-store chain. However, this represents a substantial discount to the EUR 150 mln sale price that was expected less than a month ago.

Karstadt rents all its stores in Germany, the majority of which are owned by the Highstreet consortium comprising Goldman Sachs' Whitehall Funds (51%), Deutsche Bank's RREEF funds (24%), Milan-based Pirelli Real Estate (12%), Generali (11%) and the Borletti Group. The portfolio consists of 95 properties occupied by Karstadt including 45 Karstadt stores, plus about 50 Karstadt car parks, offices and logistics properties across Germany.

Karstadt's parent company Arcandor was forced into administration last June after the German government rejected calls for both a state loan guarantee and rescue aid.