The roof of the Signa-Empire, the Signa Holding GmbH, owned by Tyrolean billionaire René Benko, filed for insolvency at the Vienna Commercial Court on Wednesday, as the creditor protection association KSV1870 confirmed. According to the real estate group, the aim is to implement a restructuring process with self-management. The aim is an “orderly continuation of operational business operations and restructuring”. Rising interest rates and construction costs as well as falling real estate valuations triggered the bankruptcy. The government leadership considers the case Signa for a purely economic matter: “I don’t see a political issue, this is a case of insolvency law,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) after the Council of Ministers. It will be important that the financial situation remains stable, emphasized Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens).
