By Holger Elfes May 28 (Bloomberg) — Karstadt, the insolvent German department-store chain, received three binding bids from investors before today’s deadline. The offers came from private equity company Triton, investment firm Berggruen Holdings Ltd. and the Highstreet partnership, which owns most of Karstadt’s real estate, said Thomas Schulz , spokesman for administrator Klaus Hubert Goerg , in an interview today. Goerg began talks in February with potential buyers of Karstadt , which employs 25,000 people. He may extend the deadline beyond today as the company’s creditors didn’t have enough time to study the offers before they were due to meet at 11 a.m. today in Essen, where Karstadt is based, Schulz said. Triton said in an e-mailed statement that it will immediately invest 100 million euros ($124 million) if it buys Karstadt, followed by a further 400 million euros in the next five years. The investment firm also said it wants “market- conform rents” and performance-linked wages for workers. Spokespeople for Highstreet and Berggruen confirmed the offers, while declining to discuss details. Schulz also declined to provide any details of the bids. Two were received late yesterday and one this morning, he said. Shares Gain Arcandor AG , the insolvent parent of Karstadt, formed Highstreet in 2006, selling a majority holding to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Whitehall real estate funds for 3.7 billion euros. Two years ago, the retailer sold its 49 percent stake in Highstreet for 800 million euros to a group formed by Pirelli & C. Real Estate SpA , Generali Real Estate Fund SA, Deutsche Bank AG’s RREEF Real Estate and Borletti Group. Arcandor shares rose 6 percent to 23 cents in Frankfurt trading today. The stock has almost doubled in value this week, giving the company a market value of 58.2 million euros. “The shares are rising on speculation that some remaining assets still have a value,” said Christoph Schlienkamp , an analyst at Bankhaus Lampe in Dusseldorf. “No money from a possible Karstadt sale will go to Arcandor.” Some Karstadt bidders have asked workers for wage cuts and landlords for lower rents. The Ver.di labor union has said it opposes pay cuts beyond those workers had already agreed on. To contact the reporter on this story: Holger Elfes in Dusseldorf, Germany, at helfes@bloomberg.net .
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Arcandor’s Karstadt Gets Three Bids Close to Deadline
By Daniel Williams and Holger Elfes March 7 (Bloomberg) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in a “satisfactory” condition after surgeons removed his gallbladder without complications, the physician who led the operating team and Egypt’s health minister said. “He is clinically stable, with normal vital signs, and his condition is really good this morning,” Markus Beuchler of Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany and Hatem El Gabaly , the chief of the Egyptian Ministry of Health, said in an e- mailed statement today. A polyp from Mubarak’s small intestine also was discovered yesterday and taken out, Buechler said in an earlier statement “I am fully satisfied with the performance and the outcome of the surgical intervention,” he said. No cancer was found in the removed tissue, he said. Mubarak, 81, was in an intensive care unit and speaking to family members and doctors. He will remain hospitalized “in the following days until he is fully recovered,” Buechler said. Mubarak yesterday temporarily handed power to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif , 58, who will carry out the role of president until Mubarak is able to resume his duties, the Information Ministry said. Egypt has no vice president. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had the same surgery at the southern German facility last month and was discharged three weeks later, hospital spokeswoman Annette Tuffs said. ‘Inflammation’ Mubarak has ruled the Middle East’s most populous country for 28 years. His reign is the longest since the military overthrew Egypt’s monarchy in 1952. He had been visiting Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel . During an examination March 5, Mubarak was found to have “chronic inflammation of the gallbladder,” Egypt’s government press office said. Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said Nazif will stay in Egypt until Mubarak is back. “It’s business as usual,” Rady said. “There’s no worries about Nazif for Mubarak,” said Hisham Kassem , a former newspaper publisher and opposition activist. “There won’t be a coup.” Nazif was appointed prime minister in July 2004. He was minister of communications and information technology in the previous government. Liberalization of Egypt’s economy has been a main thrust of his time in office. In June 2004, Mubarak underwent surgery in Munich for a slipped disc. He put presidential powers in the hands of then- Prime Minister Atef Obeid for 10 days. Peace Treaty Mubarak has held office since the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981 during a military parade by soldiers belonging to an underground Islamic group. He has kept to a peace treaty with Israel that took effect in 1979 and in the past two years tried to mediate between feuding Palestinians in hopes of getting peace talks for a Palestinian state next to Israel under way. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2011. Mubarak has kept succession possibilities firmly linked to his ruling National Democratic Party. Rules introduced in 2006 require presidential candidates to belong to the NDP or established opposition parties, which have virtually no popular support. If an independent wants to run, he must win endorsement by parliament and local councils, all dominated by the NDP. Egypt’s biggest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, isn’t recognized by the government as a political party. Mubarak reins in dissent through emergency laws decreed in 1981 that prohibit besmirching Egypt’s image, permit secret trials to be held and allow detentions without trial. Speculation on a successor to Mubarak has circulated since 2003, when he fainted during a session of parliament. In Cairo, democratic activists have campaigned to prevent a possible dynastic succession to Mubarak’s son Gamal, 47. He heads the NDP’s policy committee. Gamal denies he’s running for president. Mohammed ElBaradei , former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency , is campaigning for constitutional changes that would widen the field for presidential candidates. During a visit to Cairo last month, ElBaradei formed a group of 30 opposition politicians and activists to press for new rules. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at Dwailliams41@bloomberg.net ; Holger Elfes in Dusseldorf at helfes@bloomberg.net
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Egypt’s Mubarak in `Satisfactory’ Condition Following Gallbladder Surgery
