Thai Central Group, Austria’s SIGNA buy Swiss luxury department store chain for $1bn

Thai Central Group, Austria's SIGNA buy Swiss luxury department store chain for $1bn

A joint venture(50:50) between Austria’s SIGNA and Thailand’s largest retailer Central Group has acquired the Swiss luxury department store chain GLOBUS, along with eight associated real estate properties at top inner-city locations from the Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund (MGB), for more than 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.03 billion).

SIGNA and Central Group jointly own Germany’s KaDeWe Group with upcoming projects in Düsseldorf, and Vienna, Austria; while Central Group currently owns 9 Italy’s Rinascente and Denmark’s Illum.

“For the acquisition of Globus Switzerland, the deal is a joint venture between Central Group and SIGNA, our incumbent partner in the KaDeWe Group and a new project in Vienna. The transaction includes the purchase of prime Swiss properties and a hotel, worth over 1 billion Swiss francs altogether.”, said Tos Chirathivat, Executive Chairman and CEO Central Group.

“GLOBUS is a wonderful brand very close to our hearts. We are delighted to welcome it as a member of our family. As a historic Swiss brand, GLOBUS is a perfect fit for our European alliance with strong local presence and great international recognition. By working together, we will guarantee GLOBUS and the rest of our brands a solid, sustainable and successful future,” said Vittorio Radice, CEO of Central Group Europe, representing the SIGNA/Central joint venture.

The signing of the transaction has taken place. The final acquisition is subject to the approval from the European competition authorities and is expected to close in mid-2020.