The largest private equity holding in Lower Austria, the Raiffeisen Holding, is undergoing a strategic realignment. Holding CEO Michael Höllerer announced plans to give the Raiffeisen Holding a new profile and venture into new business areas during a meeting at the business journalists’ club. The holding company currently has investments in various sectors such as food and beverage, construction, and banking, through companies like Agrana, NÖM dairy, Strabag, and Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich-Wien.
Höllerer revealed that the new business areas the Raiffeisen Holding is looking to explore include health and care sectors as well as energy. The company aims to position itself as a sustainable investor supporting customers through the energy transition. One of their popular products is the green electricity tariff called “Auri One” introduced last year for end customers.
Apart from their existing investments, Raiffeisen Niederösterreich also holds a majority stake in KURIER through Medicur Holding. The media holdings previously owned by the Signa Group are now up for sale following their bankruptcy. There is interest from Raiffeisen Holding, especially in the media package previously held by Signa. The holding company is exploring possibilities in terms of acquiring a stake in KURIER or Krone.
Höllerer declined to discuss the details of Signa’s loans from Raiffeisen Landesbank Niederösterreich-Wien due to banking secrecy regulations. He is confident that the Strabag-Russia deal adheres to sanctions regulations and emphasized the importance of compliance in complex transactions like these. Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), where Höllerer also serves on the supervisory board, is associated with RLB NÖ-Wien through a shared ownership structure.
Höllerer stressed that while the completion timeline for releasing frozen profits from RBI’s Russian subsidiary is uncertain, they are navigating a challenging landscape due to compliance issues and scrutiny from authorities. Despite criticism for moving slowly, the ECB’s oversight in the matter is deemed necessary. The Raiffeisen Holding CEO also touched on the country’s interest payments on federal treasury notes, indicating displeasure at the unlimited invitation security provided to investors by the Federal Financing Agency.