Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Fund has won more than 700 million euros ($825 million) in compensation in an arbitration related to the collapse of Austria’s Cigna real estate empire, creditor protection group Credit Reform announced on Tuesday.
Mr Mubadala is one of several international investors and creditors seeking to recoup losses from Europe’s biggest real estate failure.
Signa was founded by real estate investor Rene Benko, who previously owned landmark buildings in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Rising interest rates and borrowing costs caused the group to run into financial difficulties, leading to bankruptcy in late 2023.
Creditreform, which represents the interests of Signa creditors, said the arbitration, conducted under the supervision of the International Chamber of Commerce, targeted ReneBenko himself, the core entity of the Signa group and two family trusts.
The total amount at issue in this case was approximately 900 million euros.
Benko’s lawyers, the International Chamber of Commerce and Mubadala did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It has not yet been determined where the funds awarded to Mubadala will come from.
Cigna’s two main real estate businesses, Cigna Prime Selection and Cigna Development Selection, which hold some of the group’s most valuable urban assets and development projects, have been discharged from payment and expense obligations in the case, the bankruptcy trustee said.
Benko, once one of Europe’s most ambitious real estate developers, has been in custody for about a year. He has been twice convicted of fraud related to bankruptcy cases. He is appealing both convictions.
His group’s collapse left investors, including major German and Swiss companies, facing hundreds of millions of euros in losses.
(1 dollar = 0.8483 euro)
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Writing by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by David Goodman)
