(Bloomberg) -- Signa Development Selection AG, the smaller of two main units in Rene Benko’s insolvent property group, is offering to pay back its creditors 30% of their money within two years. 

Signa’s proposal, backed by the company’s administrator, would see a trustee managing an orderly asset sale process, according to a report dated March 11 and seen by Bloomberg. The offer is the minimum required by Austrian law under Signa’s form of insolvency.

The recovery rate is the first detailed calculation on how much creditors can expect to get from the troubled units that form Benko’s Signa empire. Investors are scheduled to vote on the plan at a meeting on March 18, according to the Vienna Commercial Court. 

Creditors could lose almost everything if they vote against the plan and the company goes bankrupt, Signa said in the report. They may recover as low as 19% in case of an asset fire sale, according to estimates by property experts Syngroup.

Bonds of Signa Development were quoted 0.9 cents higher at 16.8 cents on the euro on Tuesday, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

Representatives for Signa Development and its insolvency administrator didn’t immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment.

The proposal kicks off a final stretch of formal insolvency proceedings at Signa Development, which started with the company’s request for creditor protection at the end of December.

Investors have registered €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) of claims against Signa Development, of which around €1.3 billion have been so far recognized by the administrators, said the report.

Signa Unit to Present Repayment Plan in Bid to Avert Liquidation

The broader efforts to resolve the financial fallout at Signa may linger with property appraisers predicting better chances of sales and higher values if transactions can be delayed by at least two years, according to the report. 

Signa Development managed almost €3 billion of property at the end of 2022, including the Berlin BEAM project. The larger luxury subsidiary, Signa Prime, is preparing a restructuring plan of its own.

--With assistance from Libby Cherry.

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