René Benko, the Austrian entrepreneur who took a 75.1 percent stake in the 28 sporting stores of Karstadt and its three premium department stores in September, is about to transfer half of the shares to Beny Steinmetz, a rich Israeli trader in diamonds and real estate, according to Manager Magazin. In exchange for this, Karstadt's current owner, Nicholas Berggruen would get a stake in Benko' company, which owns the real estate of Karstadt's department stores. Benko and Steinmetz also have reportedly an option to acquire a 75.1 percent share in Karstadt's 83 other department stores for a symbolic amount.

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