According to sources familiar with the situation a group led by Richard Baker’s investment firm NRDC Corp in collaboration with Hudson’s Bay Company CEO is poised to acquire Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof a prominent German department store chain.
This move follows Galeria’s filing for insolvency earlier this year after its parent company Signa collapsed amidst Europe’s real estate crisis.
Hudson’s Bay Company previously owned Galeria Kaufhof before its sale to Signa and subsequent merger with Karstadt. An official announcement of the acquisition could be made as early as Wednesday.
The consortium will be spearheaded by NRDC and German entrepreneur Bernd Beetz who formerly headed cosmetics giant Coty and served as chairman of Galeria’s supervisory board. Despite attempts to reach Beetz and NRDC for comment responses were not immediately available.
Galeria’s insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus declined to comment although he previously mentioned ongoing discussions with two potential buyers.
This marks Galeria’s third insolvency filing in recent years with past difficulties attributed to pandemic-related challenges in 2020 and economic pressures stemming from the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
The current crisis primarily arises from Signa’s collapse which had promised a significant financial injection into Galeria. Initial reports from Germany’s Handelsblatt suggest NRDC is likely to secure the bid.
