Karstadt or Greek billionaire to buy Kaufhof?

Greek billionaire George Economou wants to buy German department store chain Kaufhof and its Belgian daughter Galeria Inno using the Austrian real-estate company Signa, as business newspaper Handelsblatt reports. Another German department store chain, Karstadt, would also be interested in buying Kaufhof from Metro Group.

The end of trouble for CEO Cordes?

According to Handelsblatt, Economou has offered 2.4 billion euro for Kaufhof, while Karstadt’s bid is unknown. The newspaper however stated that 2.4 billion is Metro’s minimum minimorum.

A Signa spokesman confirmed talks are taking place, but refused to comment – as has Metro, Kaufhof’s current owner that has been trying to sell the chain since 2008. Handelsblatt believes the matter could be solved in a couple of weeks, which would mean the end of a painful long journey for Metro CEO Eckhard Cordes.