Half share purchased

Thai Signa partner takes over Globus

(Bild: APA/Keystone/Walter Bieri)

The Thai Signa partner Central Group has completely taken over the operational business of the Swiss department store chain Globus. To this end, it bought the remaining half of the shares from its financially ailing joint venture partner Signa. However, the future of the Globus properties is still open.

Specifically, the Central Group will take over the operation of the stores in the seven Globus department stores in Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, Glatt and St. Gallen as well as in the two stores currently under construction at Zurich's Bellevue and Basel's Marktplatz, according to the statement.

Globus Switzerland's real estate company is not part of the transaction. The ownership structure here remains unchanged, it said. Central and Signa each currently hold half of the shares here, the Central Group announced on Monday.

"We are delighted to become the full owner of this leading luxury retailer. This is a further step in our efforts to consolidate our European portfolio and create more value for our stakeholders," Central Group Europe CEO André Maeder was quoted as saying.

Also involved in the shell construction of the Lamarr
Central Group also acquired the Berlin luxury department store KaDeWe from Signa Prime Selection in the summer. It is also involved in the shell construction of the Lamarr luxury department store on Vienna's Mariahilfer Strasse shopping street.

The insolvent Lamarr company is owned 50 percent each by Signa Prime Capital Invest GmbH - a subsidiary of Signa Prime Selection, which is also insolvent - and Skyred Holding 9 based in Luxembourg, a subsidiary of the Thai Central Group.

Together with Signa and its owner René Benko, Central Group had been gradually expanding its involvement in the European luxury department store business since the mid-2010s.

Central Group also bought KaDeWe
Following Signa's bankruptcy, Central then took over the business piece by piece. In April 2024, for example, the Group bought the luxury department store property KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) in Berlin from Signa.