KarstadtQuelle wins support for restructuring
Fundraising plan approved by shareholders
German retail KarstadtQuelle has won shareholder backing for its plan to issue new shares to fund the restructuring of the business.
The department store to mail order retailer has won shareholder approval to issue 93m new shares, which shoud raise €500m.
The share issue will also allow KarstadtQuelle to obtain a €1.75bn loan from its banks, which will help fund the store closures and redundancy programme at the core of the restructuring.
KarstadtQuelle spokesman Joerg Howe told the Associated Press news agency: “We have taken the biggest hurdle. We expect that the capital increase can be carried out in short order.”
Karstadt told shareholders this week that it does not expect to return to profit until 2006, later than originally forecast. Also ths week, US coffee bar giant Starbuck confirmed it is buying out its stake in its German joint venture with KarstadtQuelle, as the retailer focuses on core business.
