Arcandor creditors mull talks with banks on break-up

FRANKFURT, July 18 (Reuters) - A committee of Arcandor's (AROG.DE) biggest creditors discussed at their first meeting whether the insolvent German tourism and retail group should talk to investment banks about a break-up, a spokesman for court-appointed administrator Klaus Hubert Goerg said on Saturday.

The spokesman said no preliminary decision had been made on the matter at Friday's meeting, adding that he did "not know any names" of specific banks being considered.

On Saturday, Germany's Der Spiegel reported that HSBC (HSBA.L) and Nomura (8604.T) were likely candidates for a mandate to examine a disposal of Arcandor's Karstadt department store business and its mail-order operations grouped under its Primondo division.

Separately, rival weekly magazine Focus reported on Saturday that the creditor committee would meet on Aug. 15 to decide on the future of the company.

"I am not aware that any date was scheduled for the next meeting," Goerg's spokesman said.

He explained that judges were expected to begin a structured insolvency proceeding on Sept. 1, by which time a rough concept of how the company will be reorganised should be presented. In November a meeting of Arcandor's creditors would likely then make the final decision on a concept.

A spokesman for Arcandor said that Chief Executive Karl-Gerhard Eick is still looking to find an investor by the middle of August that would support a restructuring plan that would save the company and all three of its business areas including Thomas Cook (TCG.L).

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Editing by Victoria Main)