Signa Holding faces claims of $9 bln - insolvency manager

The troubled European Signa holding company is facing claims totalling 8.613 billion euros ($9.32 billion), its court-appointed manager said on Monday, a figure that is 70% more than debts originally flagged last year when it filed for insolvency.

The troubled European Signa holding company is facing claims totalling 8.613 billion euros ($9.32 billion), its court-appointed manager said on Monday, a figure that is 70% more than debts originally flagged last year when it filed for insolvency. The insolvency manager, Christof Stapf, said that it had recognized only a fraction of the claims so far - just 80.3 million euros - and that many of the claims arrived without necessary supporting materials or late.

Signa is the biggest casualty so far of Europe's property crisis. It announced debts of around 5 billion euros when it announced its insolvency last year. Talks are still ongoing over the sale of Signa's stakes in the Chrysler Building and its media holdings, Stapf said. ($1 = 0.9248 euros) ($1 = 0.9240 euros)