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Austrian Billionaire Raising Cash as He Buys Out Kaufhof Department Stores

  • Austrian mogul won approval to buy rest of Kaufhof last week
  • Transaction is expected to close by the end of September
New Year Retail Sales in Germany's Financial Capital
Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
Updated on

Austrian property mogul Rene Benko is seeking half a billion euros ($549 million) by selling shares and a further 300 million euros in a bond offering as his purchase of Germany’s Kaufhof department-store chain nears completion.

Benko is meeting investors in London, Paris and Frankfurt this week after he secured regulatory approval for the acquisition of the 50% stake in Kaufhof he didn’t already own, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News. The purchase is expected to close by the end of September.