Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. Getty Images/dpa
The Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain had been standing on its own two feet for a little more than six months when CEO Olivier Van den Bossche filed for bankruptcy at the Essen district court on January 9th. It was now the third bankruptcy in four years. The reason: brief. It was already heard back then from company circles that the missing 200 million euros that Signa boss René Benko had promised as a grant as part of the second bankruptcy would have pushed Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) into bankruptcy . Expensive rents in Signa properties and high-paying consulting contracts would have had an additional impact on the office.
This version still exists today.
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However, a previously confidential KPMG report from November is now raising doubts about this version – and GKK inspectors are growing concerns about the legality of the bankruptcy. In the report, the auditors show how the department store chain’s business and liquidity would have developed even without the millions promised by billionaire René Benko – and surprisingly well.
Specifically, the first Benko tranche of 50 million euros was due at the beginning of February. The auditor’s forecast shows that missing this payment while at the same time withholding the rent for Signa properties would have had a manageable effect for the department store chain. In February the liquidity would have fallen from 175 million euros to 118 million euros, in March to 109 million euros – but by May it would have risen again to 127 million euros and would have This corresponds to the usual course of business, write the KPMG auditors.