Thai retail and mall conglomerate Central Group is partnering with an Austrian property developer to buy Swiss department store chain Globus. 

According to the Sonntagszeitung, a Swiss newspaper, both companies will take an equal 50-per-cent share in the business. 

Globus reportedly has significant property assets making it an attractive target for Austrian property investor Rene Benko. Benko’s Signa Holding already owns Germany department store Galeria Kaufhof.

Central Group, on the other hand, has already enjoyed success investing in department stores in Europe, its network now including the Rinascente Turin and a share in Germany’s KaDeWe Group, which also owns the Oberpollinger and Alsterhaus stores in Munich and Hamburg. It has another luxury department store under construction in Vienna.

Globus is valued at about US$1 billion, and has a flagship store on the main street of Zurich. 

The deal has not yet been officially confirmed with final details under negotiation, but current owner Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund has confirmed a sale is proceeding according to plan.