Germany

A German court has delayed a decision on the insolvency plan for department store chain Karstadt until July 16, a press spokesman for the court in Essen said Thursday, Dow Jones reported. Although the contract for the sale of Karstadt to Berggruen Holdings has been signed, the sale still depends on certain conditions being met, the court said. These relate in part to the negotiation of rental agreements between Berggruen and the owners of the real estate Karstadt rents. The agreement is also subject to approval by cartel authorities.

The looming insolvency of PrimaCom AG is edging closer since there are few signs that creditors and shareholders will reach an agreement ahead of a June 22 deadline, according to two persons familiar with the matter. PrimaCom's insolvency would boost the consolidation process in the German cable network sector with Kabel Deutschland Holding AG benefiting most. A plan to sell PrimaCom failed around six months ago, with the highest bidder offering €240 million. That apparently wasn't sufficient.

Germany said it wouldn't provide General Motors Co. loan guarantees of more than €1 billion, or $1.19 billion, to help restructure its troubled Adam Opel GmbH unit, but Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to leave the door open for some form of aid, saying "the last word has not been spoken," The Wall Street Journal reported.

The German government has moved forward a meeting to discuss aid for troubled automaker Opel, as workers demonstrated Monday in favour of loan guarantees that appeared to be slipping away. A meeting of the fund set up to help enterprises was scheduled for Wednesday, an economy ministry spokesman told AFP, instead of Friday as initially planned. Opel has asked governments of countries where its European operations are located for €1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) in loan guarantees so the company can obtain financing at reasonable rates on capital markets.

Billionaire investor Nicolas Berggruen has won a bid to acquire German retailer Karstadt, ending a months-long saga to line up new owners for the insolvent department store chain, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Terms of the deal weren't immediately provided by Karstadt's insolvency administrator or Berggruen's holding company, which announced the deal late Monday.

Germany's Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle on Sunday ruled out any "special treatment" for General Motors' unit Opel, which is seeking state aid in exchange for keeping thousands of jobs in the country, Agence France-Presse reported.

Department store chain Karstadt's insolvency administrator has met with German retailer Metro, a spokesman for the adminstrator said on Wednesday, The Guardian reported on a Reuters story. Metro has said repeatedly over the past year it could be interested in acquiring some of Karstadt's 120 stores to beef up Kaufhof, which it wants to sell to focus on the its wholesale cash & carry and its consumer electronics business. The spokesman was responding to a report from German newspaper publisher WAZ-Mediengruppe that Metro was in talks over Karstadt.

Germany's biggest cable network provider Kabel Deutschland Holding AG said Tuesday it is interested in buying assets from peer PrimaCom AG, which may face insolvency. PrimaCom has 700,000 to 800,000 customers in the area where Kabel Deutschland operates, a Kabel Deutschland spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires. Germany's three major cable network companies, Kabel Deutschland, Unitymedia--a unit of Liberty Global inc.

A restructuring deal at General Motors' loss-making European carmaker Opel was signed into effect on Monday, aimed at saving 265 million euros ($325 million) in annual wage costs through 2014, labour leader Klaus Franz said. After drafting a master agreement on May 21, European union and workforce representatives from countries hosting Opel's major manufacturing plants also signed the deal with Opel Chief Executive Nick Reilly, Reuters reported.

A German court on Monday postponed its ruling on the insolvency plan of German department store chain Karstadt to next week as the search for a new investor is taking longer than expected, Reuters reported. The district court in Essen had initially planned to rule on Monday whether Karstadt's insolvency plan was viable, but postponed its decision to June 10 after a committee of Karstadt's creditors said it needed more time to assess bids. The committee originally wanted to pick an investor on Friday, but then moved the date to June 9.