German court approves Karstadt takeover plan

Berlin A German court has given the go-ahead for an investor to take over the country's bankrupt Karstadt department store chain with its 25,000 employees, according to a Friday report by the Associated Press.

Karstadt has been under an insolvency administrator since parent Arcandor AG filed for protection in June 2009.

The German news agency DAPD reported that an administrative court in Essen on Friday approved a plan for financial investor Nicolas Berggruen to take over the chain. Berggruen was chosen to take over Karstadt in June but the plan then got delayed while negotiating over rent levels for its approximately 120 stores.

An agreement by the buildings' owners to lower rents paved the way for a final deal this week, according to AP.