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Green light

October 1, 2010

After four months of negotiations, the path is clear for German-American investor Nicolas Berggruen to take over the German retail chain Karstadt. The deal was complete after creditors retracted a final complaint.

https://p.dw.com/p/PSVg
A green traffic light
Karstadt can now go ahead under managementImage: Bilderbox

The bankruptcy process of Germany's Karstadt department store chain has come to an end, ending months of negotiations by the company's new owner, German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen.

Nicolas Berggruen
Berggruen now owns the retail chainImage: dapd

Late on Thursday, the final remaining sticking points in the bankruptcy process were retracted by Karstadt's creditors, effectively giving the deal a final green light.

"Today marks a turning point in the history of Karstadt," Berggruen said of the news.

According to Karstadt's new business manager, Thomas Fox, not a lot will change at Karstadt stores under the new ownership. Most of Karstadt's 25,000 employees will keep their jobs, he said.

However, many of the 120 stores in Germany are in need of renovation, and plans have to modernize the assortment of goods Karstadt stores will carry.

Karstadt's former parent company, Arcandor, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. Since then, the future of the retail chain has often been in peril as Berggruen worked to find a solution for taking over the company.

Author: Matt Zuvela (dpa, dapd, AFP)
Editor: Chuck Penfold

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