Signa mass administrator demands almost one million euros from ex-casinos boss-diepresse.com
Ex-casinos Austria boss Karl Stoss, as the Signa Prime Selection supervisory board, used the opportunity to acquire Signa shares at special conditions and sold part of it to the company. However, the real estate group was already insolvent at the time of the share buyback.
The mass administrator of Signa employee participation GmbH is calling for 943,000 euros from ex-casinos Austria boss Karl Stoss for a share sale and this has so far been flashed with its comparison offer, the daily newspaper « The Standard » announced in the Friday edition. As a Signa Prime Selection supervisory board, Stoss used the opportunity to acquire Signa shares at special conditions and sold part of it in July 2023 for 943,000 euros back to the Signa.
The real estate group Signa offered employees to acquire shares in the real estate group, whereby the money was deferred for it. Mass administrators are now calling for the original price for practically worthless papers. However, other investors have managed to sell their signa shares back to the real estate group. This included former Casinos Austria boss Karl Stoss, who was deputy chairman of the Signa Prime Selection and a member of the Signa Holding Advisory Board from 2013 to early 2024. He acquired 23,000 Signa shares, a tranche of it until September 2022.
Share buyback in the summer of 2023
A few months later, he wanted to sell back shares – however, he only managed this after several attempts. At the end of July 2023, the desired settlement with Signa founder René Benko and Stoss became part of the shares for 82 euros each – with a total of 942,000 euros. However, the mass administrators rely on an expert opinion that the Signa was insolvent at the latest from the end of March 2022. Insiders such as Advisory Board and Supervisory Board members such as Stoss should have known this. Therefore, the buyback should no longer have been made.
Stoss denied that he knew about the imbalance of the real estate group, but put on a comparison offer on the table: According to this, the ex-manager offered 275,000 euros. However, this offer was rejected at the Creditor Committee of Signa Employee Beneiligung GmbH on May 5, reports « Der Standard ». Stoss should continue to be willing to negotiate. (APA)
