Arcandor units could remain in business

All divisions of insolvent German tourism and retail group Arcandor are capable of remaining in business and do not have to be closed down, the company's insolvency administrator told a German paper. Insolvency administrator Klaus Hubert Goerg is in talks with eight interested parties for Arcandor's mail-order unit Primondo, he said, according to weekly paper Welt am Sonntag.
Goerg said he had not yet started talks to sell department store division Karstadt, which he aims to divest as a whole - probably in an auction - without breaking out luxury stores Oberpollinger, KaDeWe and Alsterhaus, the paper reported.
Sales for Arcandor have been almost stable since insolvency proceedings started, the administrator said. German retailer Metro, which previously said it is interested in the bulk of Arcandor's Karstadt stores, said on Sunday in reaction to the interview it was prepared to start talks with Goerg.