Shopping for Karstadt
May 23, 2010
US banking giant Goldman Sachs is believed to be putting together an offer to buy Germany's embattled Karstadt department store chain.
The German group Arcandor, which owns Karstadt, needs a buyer for its 120 department stores - which include Berlin's famous KaDeWe store - that remain open across Germany.
German weekly newspaper Bild Am Sonntag reported that the property group Highstreet, of which Goldman Sachs owns 51 percent, is to present an offer next week of around 40 million euros ($50 million).
Highstreet already owns many of the buildings that house Karstadt stores, which are found in many German city centers.
Latest in list of candidates
Other candidates with an interest in buying the stores include capital investment fund Triton, the private investor Nicolas Berggruen and the German group Metro, a competitor of Karstadt.
Karstadt's creditors have until May 28 to examine the bids. Creditors are also awaiting a decision by city authorities in Cologne on whether to waive commercial taxes that they are owed.
Cologne is the last of 94 to make a decision on the matter and it is believed that a rejection of the tax remittance could scupper any planned sale.
Arcandor has already been forced to close 13 Karstadt stores in light of recent economic pressures.
rc/AFP/AP/dpa
Editor: Martin Kuebler