Austria

Crisis-hit Steinhoff will sell Austrian property assets valued at 490 million euros (428.3 million pounds) to tycoon Rene Benko's Signa Holding, it said on Friday, the latest sale by the South African retailer following an accounting scandal, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Steinhoff has been battling to stay afloat since last December when it revealed holes in its accounts that sent its shares crashing and forced it into selling some of its assets to pay down debt and beef up its liquidity.

Steinhoff International Holding NV agreed to sell its Austrian furniture retailer Rudolf Leiner GmbH and real estate assets to billionaire Rene Benko’s Signa Holding GmbH to prevent a looming insolvency of the unit, Bloomberg News reported. The conditional offer could plug a cash-draining hole for Steinhoff, which has been trying to restructure the unprofitable Austrian business also known as Kika/Leiner amid fierce competition from bigger rival XXXLutz and Sweden’s Ikea. Kika/Leiner’s fate has hung in the balance since credit insurers withdrew guarantees for its suppliers earlier this month.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s Austrian unit is in talks with international insurance companies to find a new credit underwriter for its suppliers, Bloomberg News reported. Rudolf Leiner GmbH, a furniture chain also known by its brand name Kika/Leiner, expects to conclude the search next week, Chief Executive Officer Gunnar George said in a statement Friday. George said he’s in close contact with suppliers in the meantime.

British IAG is in exclusive talks to buy Niki, Air Berlin’s insolvent Austrian airline after Niki’s administrator said that one bidder out of four remained, Reuters reported. Besides IAG, the owner of British Airways and low-cost carrier Vueling, bidders for holiday airline Niki included tour operators TUI, Thomas Cook and former Formula One world champion Niki Lauda. Niki Lauda, Niki’s founder, was quoted as saying on the website of newspaper Die Presse that he was out of the running. A source said Thomas Cook was also out of the race.

Around 790 staff working for insolvent airline Niki in Austria will be paid monthly wages for December, administrator Lucas Floether said on Wednesday, adding he was confident of striking a deal with a new investor in the next few days, Reuters reported. The new owner would be expected to take on Niki’s running costs, including salaries, from the beginning of January. Among the four bidders selected for the final stages of talks to buy all or parts of Niki is IAG, the owner of British Airways and low-cost carrier Vueling.

IAG, the owner of British Airways and low-cost carrier Vueling, is one of the four bidders selected for the final stages of talks over the assets of insolvent Austrian airline Niki, Reuters reported. IAG had made an offer for Niki as a whole and was the frontrunner in talks for the carrier, the three sources told Reuters. If no deal is struck with IAG, it is possible that Niki will be carved up among several buyers. British tour operator Thomas Cook and Niki’s founder, former Formula One world champion Niki Lauda, are also among the four, Lauda told German daily Handelsblatt.

Air Berlin’s unit Niki can keep its valuable runway slots while Austria’s Transport Ministry examines its insolvency filing, the airspace regulator said amid growing interest in the carrier from potential bidders, Reuters reported. Niki filed for insolvency last week after Germany’s Lufthansa, which is buying other parts of Air Berlin, scrapped plans to buy Niki, grounding the airline’s fleet and stranding thousands of passengers. Niki’s workers’ council chief said on Dec.

Bidders for insolvent airline Niki have until Thursday to submit their offers for the Austrian unit of collapsed Air Berlin, its administrator said on Monday, Reuters reported. “None of the possible buyers have presented a binding, fully financed offer, but there are indications of interest,” Lucas Floether told German news agency DPA. “We have set a deadline for binding offers for midday on Thursday,” he said, while declining to provide details on the bidders.

Austrian airline Niki said on Wednesday it had paid all bills owed to a tour operator and it therefore expected to avert bankruptcy proceedings which have hit parent Air Berlin, Reuters reported. Law firm Kosch & Partner said earlier it had applied for insolvency proceedings against Niki on behalf of an Austrian tour operator which said it was owed money by Niki. The law firm declined to identify the tour operator. “We have reviewed the relevant post, and the claim has been settled,” Niki said in an email to Reuters.