René Benko

Network

Before his bankruptcy, Benko maintained an extensive network of contacts in Austrian politics. Alfred Gusenbauer, former SPÖ chancellor, said he was friends with Benko. He was a member of the advisory board of Signa Holding. Susanne Riess-Hahn, former FPÖ vice chancellor, was also on Signa Holding's advisory board.

Business activities

Expansion towards a holding company

On 18 June 2013, shortly before his conviction for bribery was confirmed by the Austrian criminal appeals court, René Benko retired from the operational leadership of Signa Holding and took over the chairmanship of the Advisory Board of the Signa Group. His bribery conviction, a suspended 12-month prison sentence, was later confirmed by the Austrian Supreme Court.

In 2013, the new company division Signa Retail was founded. With the acquisition of the Karstadt department store chain in 2014, as well as several online and multichannel retailers, Benko's Signa Holding became a significant company in the retail sector. Since 2014, several projects were completed in Austria and other European countries. Another milestone was the approval by local referendum of the construction of the WaltherPark shopping center in Bolzano, Italy in 2016. The company made further expansions in e-commerce from 2017, such as the acquisition of Probikeshop and hood.de.

After the purchase of the Austrian furniture chain Kika-Leiner (6,500 employees) in June 2018, negotiations resumed on the acquisition of the department store chain Kaufhof in July 2018 by Signa Holding under Benko's leadership. On 11 September, the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof was officially confirmed. Soon after this merger, the public debate around the acquisition and Benko's general business practices intensified.

In November 2018, Benko's first investments in the media sector were announced with the acquisition by Signa Holding of shares in the Austrian daily newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Kurier.

In March 2019, Signa Holding, together with RFR Holding, acquired New York City's famed 1930 Art Deco skyscraper the Chrysler Building for an estimated $150 million. This was Benko's first major investment in the United States. A month later, the Technical Commission of Italy's South Tyrol regional government approved the sale of Bolzano Airport to a company owned by Benko, Bolzano entrepreneur Josef Gostner and Strabag founder Hans Peter Haselsteiner.

In mid-2019, Benko's Signa Holding acquired the remaining shares in Galeria Kaufhof. These had been previously held by Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Company, which thus withdrew from the European market. The French investment holding company Société Foncière, Financière et de Participations, which manages the Peugeot family's holdings, subsequently acquired a 5% stake in Signa Prime Selection for 186 million euros. The Hotel Bauer Palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice was acquired in 2020 by Benko's Signa Group, thus expanding Benko's hotel portfolio.

In 2021, in a joint venture with Central Group, Signa acquired the Selfridges luxury department stores in the UK. This extended their already existing shared portfolio of luxury department stores in continental Europe. Moreover, Signa Sports United completed a business merger with Yucaipa Acquisition and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 15 December 2021.

In 2023, Signa sold 49.9% of the KaDeWe to the Central Group.

The Central Group then bought the KaDeWe building on April 12, 2024 from the already-insolvent Signa for 1 billion euros, announcing that it was in formal talks to acquire Signa's interest in the KaDeWe Group. Central officially purchased 100% of the KaDeWe Group (KaDeWe, Alsterhaus and Oberpollinger) later in the year.

Foundation and first investments

At the end of 1999, Benko founded the two-person company Immofina Holding, renamed Signa Holding in 2006.

The company's first projects included the extension of attics into luxury apartments and the profitable purchase and sale of the health hotel Lanserhof in the Austrian city of Lans. After these successes, the Viennese entrepreneur Karl Kovarik, who inherited several gas stations, contributed to the first financial jump-start with 25 million euros.

In 2007, Signa Holding set out to purchase 16 central-city properties from the portfolio of BAWAG P.S.K. bank and to open medical centers in Vienna. It acquired the Kaufhaus Tyrol, which was completely renovated between 2007 and 2010. The planning of the latter was carried out by the renowned architect David Chipperfield. In 2008, the former headquarters of Länderbank and Bank Austria became the property of Signa and was converted into the Park Hyatt Vienna hotel. In 2011, the company bought the Oberpollinger department store in Munich. Furthermore, a portfolio of buildings consisting of KaDeWe and Karstadt properties was acquired in 2012. Following these investments, Signa bought the commercial businesses of KaDeWe in 2013, and Karstadt in 2014.

In January 2025, Benko was arrested by Austrian authorities on suspicion of fraud and corruption.

The case was brought by the Austrian Central Public Prosecutor. Following a trial in Vienna, Benko was found guilty of financial fraud. On 15 October 2025, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

The Financial Times reported that the trial was likely to be first in a series of court cases related to Signa's collapse.