This article was published on March 17, 2025, at 11:41 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove website.
As MBK Partners faces a crisis with the corporate rehabilitation of Homeplus, Chairman Kim Byung-ju has decided to use his personal grants. With the controversy over ‘fraudulent issuance’ related to short-term bonds sold prior to the rehabilitation application escalating and a tax investigation of MBK's headquarters being conducted, Chairman Kim has ultimately chosen to take direct action.
MBK and Homeplus have not disclosed the scale of the personal grants. However, they have stated that they will prioritize support for unpaid payments to small businesses and micro enterprises, suggesting that the repayment amount could reach as high as 500 billion won. This calculation is based on the premise that the amount of bonds issued from February 12 to March 4 is the same as that of the rehabilitation bonds issued from January 1 to February 11, and the actual repayment amount is expected to fall significantly short of this.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 17th, MBK announced the day before that it would use Chairman Kim's personal grants to quickly pay transaction amounts to small business partners. It is rare for the chairman of a private equity fund (PEF) management company to inject personal funds to resolve a financial crisis of a portfolio company.
An MBK official noted, "During the rehabilitation process, we believe that commercial creditors will be able to receive full repayment, but for small enterprises, delayed payments could lead to economic difficulties, so we will prioritize financial support." He added, "We hope that through this, small enterprises can continue to engage in transactions with Homeplus with peace of mind."
Chairman Kim does not directly hold equity in Homeplus, possessing only 17% of MBK's equity. Thus, the personal grants are likely to be made through the purchase of newly issued shares or bonds from Homeplus.
However, MBK has only defined the support target as 'payment for small businesses and micro enterprises' without disclosing specific details like the amount. An MBK official mentioned, "(Chairman Kim) is in a situation where he needs to secure funds personally, and it is a priority to consult with Homeplus to ascertain the exact extent of damages" and added, "We cannot yet determine the precise amount of the grants."
Commercial bonds (payment for goods, construction costs, service payments, etc.) are classified into rehabilitation bonds and public interest bonds. Rehabilitation bonds are those that arose before the initiation of rehabilitation proceedings, while public interest bonds arise after the initiation of such proceedings and must be repaid at all times, regardless of the rehabilitation plan.
According to Homeplus, among the payments for the period before the 4th of this month, the amounts from January 1 to February 11 include some rehabilitation and public interest bonds that require court approval. The Seoul Rehabilitation Court has approved repayment of a total of 458.4 billion won in bonds over two occasions on the 7th and 11th, at amounts of 345.7 billion won and 112.7 billion won, respectively.
Bonds issued between February 12 and March 4 were classified as public interest bonds. Public interest bonds do not require court approval and are being repaid first. The scale of public interest bonds is not yet known, but considering that the period is less than a month, the market estimates that it will fall far short of the amount of rehabilitation bonds (from January 1 to February 11).
Of this, the amount that Homeplus has stated it completed paying by the 13th of this month is 340 billion won. This includes the amounts for both rehabilitation and public interest bonds. Therefore, if we assume that the public interest bond amount arising from the 12th is equal to that of the rehabilitation bonds (458.4 billion won), it results in a total transaction bond amount of 920 billion won, leading to an estimated unpaid amount of up to 580 billion won. However, as public interest bonds are expected to be much less than rehabilitation bonds considering the issuance period, the actual unpaid amount is likely to be significantly less than 580 billion won.
The share of individual investors who invested in Homeplus bonds will likely be excluded from priority repayment. The scale of individual bond investments is estimated to be around 200 billion won. This involves the seller, Shinyoung Securities, and a credit rating agency, and an investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service is ongoing, so MBK is expected to present specific response measures only after the investigation results have been released.
An MBK official dismissed claims stating, "The securitized products were issued and sold by the securities company, and Homeplus did not know who the securities were sold to," adding that "it is entirely false to assert that Homeplus issued bonds knowing that it would enter the rehabilitation process."
He emphasized, "However, as stated in the press briefing on the 14th, the goal is to ensure that Homeplus's debts related to the purchase liability are repaid in full according to the rehabilitation procedure."