Germany

Germany has intervened to prevent bailed-out bank Depfa from falling into US hands just hours before a deal was about to be struck, the Financial Times reported. The government’s financial market stabilisation fund, known as Soffin, said on Tuesday evening that Depfa should be wound down by the German authorities rather than sold for what would have been €320m to US investor Leucadia, according to people familiar with the deal.

The district court at Itzehoe in northern Germany said insolvency proceedings had begun with regard to the Prokon's renewable energy division. Other segments of the firm's business were not facing bankruptcy, Deutsche Welle reported. The court said the company's regenerative energy business faced claims of 391 million euros ($542 million), compared with liquid funds of just 19 million euros. Insolvency administrator Dietmar Penzlin had indicated investors still had a chance of seeing at least some of their money back.

German PV installer and distributor Wagner & Co Solar has filed for insolvency in a court in Germany, PV Tech reported. The company is the latest in a line of firms whose fortunes have fallen with the drop in domestic demand for solar power. “Unfortunately, the market for solar power and heating systems has not as developed positively in recent months, as we had assumed…in our restructuring plan,” a statement from the company said. According to the firm, sustained losses meant it could no longer guarantee that it could fund its everyday operations without structural changes.

The small German airport of Luebeck, near Hamburg, has filed for insolvency and a local court has appointed a preliminary administrator, German media reported on Wednesday. A statement on the website for the airport, which is served by low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, said the around 100 people employed had not received their pay for April. Neither the airport nor the court was immediately available for comment. Some regional airports in Europe are struggling to find customers and make money as smaller carriers increasingly turn to bigger airports to attract passengers.

The German government’s plan to lower the retirement age has come under fire for the message it sends to cash-strapped peripheral eurozone states, the Financial Times reported. Speaking to national paper Die Welt, Günther Oettinger, German EU commissioner, said that Germany’s plans to allow longer-serving employees to retire at the age of 63 sent the “wrong signal” at a time when countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are struggling to introduce tough labour market reforms. “We expect Greeks to work longer for less pay,” said Mr Oettinger.

German luxury fashion company Strenesse, once known for dressing the German national soccer team at official events, has filed for insolvency, it said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The family-owned company, which has been struggling with its finances but seemed back on a firmer footing in February when creditors agreed a new 12 million-euro ($16.6 million) bond, said it would seek to restructure itself under insolvency proceedings. "We want to return Strenesse to profitability as soon as possible," lawyer Michael Pluta, who will act as chief restructuring officer, said.

Strauss Innovation, a German chain of small department stores, has attracted several potential buyers after it sought court protection from creditors in January to try to rescue its business, a German magazine said on Saturday, quoting its administrator, Reuters reported. Andreas Ringstmeier told weekly WirtschaftsWoche some of the interested parties were financial investors with experience in retail industry and had already submitted their indicative bids.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG pilots Wednesday began what could become the longest walkout in the German airline's history, grounding 3,800 flights over the next three days, in a protest over changes to retirement benefits, The Wall Street Journal reported. The three-day strike will affect some 425,000 passengers on the premium Lufthansa service and the low-cost unit Germanwings, Lufthansa said. Despite the cancellations, the situation at Frankfurt airport Wednesday was calm as passengers had received ample warning about the walkout.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, known as BaFin, has long been criticized as lax on banks and cowed by politicians. But recently, BaFin has started making bankers squirm, The Wall Street Journal reported. The regulator has publicly browbeaten Deutsche Bank, saying it has failed to change an internal culture stressing profits over ethics. It has pressed Deutsche Bank to fire traders for misbehavior, vetoed the promotion of a senior executive, and has forced the bank to change its accounting for a big transaction, according to people familiar with the matter.

Deutsche Lufthansa said Wednesday that a strike planned for Thursday at Frankfurt airport and six others in Germany would cost it millions of euros in damages and force the cancellation of close to 600 flights, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trade union Verdi called on ground staff, baggage handlers and maintenance staff at the seven airports to strike during the early shift as part of a dispute over pay.