[其他] New investor found for bankrupt Karstadt department stores

k-Giraffe

Germany's Karstadt department stores were thrown a lifeline on Monday evening. US investor Berggruen is set to take over the company and keep all of its employees on the payroll.

The decision came on Monday evening after eight hours of talks between the bankruptcy administrators and various investors competing for deal.

Other bidders were German-Swedish investor Triton and real estate company Highstreet. The latter, which is partly owned by investment bank Goldman Sachs, owns the majority of the buildings used by Karstadt.
Karstadt's current owner, Arcandor, filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Karstadt employs around 25,000 people at its more than 120 stores across Germany


Nicolas Berggruen is founder and president of Berggruen Holdings, an international investment firm. He is the son of the famous art collector Heinz Berggruen, who was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States, later returning to fight with the US Army in World War II.