Property and retail giant Signa declared insolvency on Wednesday after last-ditch attempts to secure fresh funding failed, making it the biggest casualty so far of Europe’s property crash.
Controlled by Austrian magnate Rene Benko, the group is an owner of New York’s Chrysler Building as well as several high-profile projects and department stores across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Signa Holding’s debts amounted to around 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion), according to creditor protection associations KSV1870 and Alpenländischer Kreditorenverband, with 42 employees and 273 creditors impacted by the proceedings.
The multi-billion-euro group, whose tentacles reach from Germany’s best-known…
