Karstadt still seeking new owner

Karstadt, the loss-making German department store chain, is still in search of a new owner, after reports broke that a potential

sale could occur sometime soon.

Nicolas Berggruen, billionaire and owner of Karstadt, is said to be in discussion with Signa, the real estate investment vehicle owned by Austrian investor Rene Benko and Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz to sell over 70 percent of the department store chain for one euro, or 80 pence, according to German daily newspaper Bild.

Last year the real estate arm of Steinmetz’s BSG group and Signa entered a partnership to invest in German real estate. Reuters stated last November that an inside source had revealed the two were interested in acquiring 75.1 percent of the German chain for one euro.

However, German magazine Focus reported on Sunday that Benko revealed that he has no interest in taking over the loss-making German department store chain from Berggruen.

The news of the ongoing struggle to find a new owner for the department store chain comes not long after Karstadt's current CEO Eva-Lotta Sjostedt announced her impending departure, just six months after she had been taken on. She hinted that she felt that she did not receive sufficient support from Berggruen.

The billionaire saved Karstadt from going under in 2012, but has been heavily criticized by German trade unions and media alike for failing to invest sufficient funds into the chain to ensure Karstadt ongoing survival.