Thai conglomerate Central Group said it’s taken control of the company behind London’s landmark Selfridges department store after the financial woes of its Austrian partner Signa deepened.
The retail group owned by the Chirathivat family in Thailand converted a loan into equity and will gain a majority stake in the joint venture company, it said in a statement Tuesday. The transaction also gives Central Group control over other department stores in the Selfridges group, including Brown Thomas & Arnotts in Ireland and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands.
The Thai-Austrian joint venture bought Selfridges for about £4 billion ($5 billion) in 2021 in one of the biggest UK retail deals in years. The business partners also co-own the Globus Department store in Switzerland and Germany’s KaDeWe.
Austrian real estate tycoon Rene Benko’s Signa is being closely watched by investors after hiring a restructuring expert amid financing difficulties.
