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Frank-Uwe Michel
Oderwitz. What had become increasingly apparent recently has now been officially confirmed: the sale of the chocolate factory in Oderwitz, which had been thought to be certain for two years, will not go ahead. In February 2024, a notarized purchase agreement had already been concluded between the Gubor Group as the owner of the former Kathleen GmbH and a German company belonging to the business empire of Turkish entrepreneur Ilkem Sahin. In offers previously published on the Internet, the purchase price was put at two million euros. This was also confirmed by Oybin real estate agent Steffen Beer, who brought the two parties together. It is not known exactly how much money was ultimately to be paid. However, the Gubor Group has now informed SZ in response to an inquiry: "No, the purchase price has not been paid."
This is tantamount to the end of the agreement. In the meantime, "a reversal of the notarized purchase agreement" has been initiated, it is said. The chocolate giant will therefore continue to have the property in Oderwitz in its portfolio, even though it can no longer do anything with it and no longer wants to. A sale is therefore still being sought, but no longer under the mediation of Steffen Beer. He is "no longer involved", explains the estate agent. Instead, the Gubor Group says it has been able to recruit an estate agent "who specializes in special properties - especially those that are listed." Large parts of the plant are listed buildings. The commissioned specialist will be marketing the factory shortly, the Group informs. It is hoped that this will enable the site to be put to a new use.
The fact that this is urgently necessary is also clear from the company's response to the SZ. Because: "Maintaining the site while production is shut down is cost-intensive for the Gubor Group." It is very much appreciated "that we still have a few employees on site who take care of the site in a reliable and hands-on manner."
But why did the sale of the traditional property, which was actually already perfect, not go through? After the contract was signed between the two parties, Gubor reports that they "repeatedly sought contact with Mr. Sahin", his cousin Karani Gülec and other members of his ISH Group. In the meantime, there had also been irregular discussions with the German head of the "Pizza-Hut" franchise chain, whose locations in Germany also belong to the Turkish entrepreneur's company empire.
The SZ reported on Ilkem Sahin's business activities in Germany back in July. The 48-year-old's ISH holding company is a conglomerate that is active in many economic sectors - including industry and agriculture, the energy sector, construction and real estate, logistics, the food industry, IT, as well as media and art. According to its own information, the company has more than 20 subsidiaries and around 20,000 employees. Over the past two years, Sahin, who was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023 by the Turkish edition of GQ magazine, has bought up several German companies that were either already bankrupt or in financial difficulties. Everywhere he went, he promised rescue and high investments.
Just a few days ago, "WirtschaftsWoche" published a multi-page article on Ilkem Sahin and his dubious success. The conclusion of the research: The businessman has apparently made a financial mess of things. According to the article, Sahin, who likes to boast about his money and influence, apparently had to save money even in Turkey. One indication of this is that the company headquarters in the greater Istanbul area are no longer located in a multi-storey office building with a glass façade, but in a smaller building in a side street.
Cornelius Stempel, who was still optimistic a few months ago that the abandoned property in his municipality would be given a new future, is now disappointed. "Because there was considerable economic power behind the ISH Group, I had expected that jobs would be created here again," says the Oderwitz mayor (non-party). However, the municipality itself had its hands tied when it came to actively intervening in the development of the site. On the one hand, the municipality does not have the necessary money to acquire the site and, on the other, there is no concept for establishing a use that makes sense from the municipality's point of view. "There are other problems that we need to solve."
