When Stefan Kirsten, the chairman of the board of directors of the Adler Group, presented his rescue plan for the company a few days ago, it became clear how tight things had been for Adler in the past few weeks: Kirsten said he had had an insolvency scenario analyzed. The group was caught in the “perfect storm”.
But a group of important creditors is willing to wait longer for their money and to lend Adler around one billion euros more. The restructuring is a “liberation” and cheaper than an insolvency scenario.
>> Read also: Adler share jumps up to 64 percent after agreement with creditors
The Adler Group was an important player on the German real estate market when it fell into a crisis a year ago following allegations by British short seller Fraser Perring. Perring accused Adler of fraud, deception and financial misrepresentation in a dossier. The group denies the allegations, but they won’t let go of him.
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A special investigation by KMPG’s auditors did not result in full discharge. Shortly thereafter, KPMG refused to issue the attestation for the 2021 financial statements and finally even completely resigned from the audit mandate, also because the auditors apparently saw themselves slowed down by Adler. The group did not make hundreds of thousands of emails and documents available, the auditors complained. Since then, Adler has been looking for a successor.
Further blows to the neck for Kirsten, who started his job in February as a beacon of hope, were not long in coming. First Adler had to report a loss in the billions for 2021, then the financial regulator Bafin found two errors in the balance sheet for 2019. Adler is said to have accounted for almost four billion euros too much.
>> Read also: Troubled Adler Group sees its future as a niche provider in Berlin – debt is increasing
The group has announced that it will take legal action against the decisions. However, the public prosecutor’s offices in Frankfurt and Berlin are also investigating.
Our investigative reporters have been researching the behind-the-scenes drama at Adler for more than a year. At Handelsblatt Crime we are talking today about how the company got into such a difficult situation and how the chances are that the announced “liberation” will succeed for the group.
Handelsblatt Crime appears every 14 days and can be heard wherever there are podcasts.
More: Listen to part one of the Adler podcastListen to part one of the Adler podcast here.