Boardroom Early Warning System

“The investors also play along. "I understood the danger of over-indebtedness earlier. Practically, Benko generated a negative cash flow every year, so he relied on additional loans or capital increases," says Roland Berger, who thus became suspicious long before the first Signa bankruptcy. "But Benko has repeatedly shown that he could acquire fresh money."”

“Recognition, yes, blind following turned with the failures into aversion, into anger. The master was disenchanted, and it seemed nothing was left of his strengths. For a long time, he was admired because he remained cool in crisis situations and found solutions when others became nervous. René always had an idea, says a financial expert who has completed many transactions with him. Now, with the looming bankruptcies, Benko seemed increasingly erratic. Investor Roland Berger, who last spoke to him in mid-December 2023, realized that things had apparently gotten out of hand for Benko: "Mr. Benko said that he also didn’t have an overview at the moment, he was looking for the numbers and would get back to me. That's when I told him: If you don't have the numbers, who does? I then knew that I would not get a sound, honest answer from him anymore."”