European buyout firm Triton offered to acquire insolvent German department store chain Karstadt in its entirety, submitting the one and only bid to the court-appointed administrator by the Friday deadline, Reuters reported. Triton said it presented a strategic concept to continue operating the chain as a going concern, but warned it would need Karstadt's lessors and its staff to make more sacrifices before the acquisition plans could proceed. Two financial sources said the most important creditors of Karstadt, including the property owners of the 120 stores, would meet to discuss the Triton offer amid doubt over whether they or delegates of the 26,000 employees would accept the terms. Karstadt department stores can be found in the center of virtually any large German city, and the chain's collapse during the 2009 recession made it the best known company to fall victim to a wave of bankruptcies. Parent Arcandor AG imploded early in June after management failed to extract a state bailout just after cash-strapped Opel was rescued by the German government. Read more.
