This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:16 p.m. on Apr. 2, 2026.
Homeplus Co. decided to accept additional letters of intent (LOIs) for the sale of its corporate supermarket (SSM) division, Homeplus Express, through the 3rd. Only two bidders have participated in the preliminary bid so far, and the move is seen as an attempt to strengthen competition and meet the hoped-for sale price of 300 billion won.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 2nd, Samil PwC, the lead manager for the Homeplus Express sale, extended the bidder participation period through the 3rd, the last business day of this week. Two parties participated in the preliminary bid that closed on the 31st, including MGC Global, operator of MEGA MGC COFFEE.
An industry official said, "If the main bid proceeds without the large distribution corporations that had previously been mentioned, there is a possibility the deal will be done at a lower-than-expected price," adding, "It appears the LOI submission period was extended to create a competitive landscape."
◇ "Defend the price by spurring competition"… 300 billion won is Homeplus Co.'s survival threshold
The 300 billion won sale price for Homeplus Express is not just a hoped-for figure but the minimum threshold for survival. Homeplus Co. urgently needs operating funds to maintain its corporate rehabilitation process, and most of the 100 billion won in DIP financing recently provided by the largest shareholder, MBK Partners, has been spent on payroll and payments to suppliers in January–February.
Homeplus Co. believes that if roughly 300 billion won in cash flows in, it can operate normally for at least about six months. During this period, its realistic survival scenario is to streamline its business structure by simultaneously closing underperforming stores and restructuring personnel and expenses.
With the current bidder pool limited, there is also concern that, if competition does not materialize, pricing power could tilt toward bidders. If the process proceeds with a single or small number of bidders, there is a high possibility that the acquirer will offer a lower price. Accordingly, the sell-side is seen to have chosen a strategy of accepting additional LOIs to create competition and defend the price.
The insistence on 300 billion won is also underpinned by Express's asset structure. Homeplus Express runs a mix of directly operated and franchised stores and does not hold large-scale real estate, but it has about 120 billion won in lease deposits piled up. Including cash and cash equivalents, its net worth is estimated at about 180 billion won.
Even on a simple liquidation-value basis, there is a certain level of defensibility, and considering the nationwide store network and brand recognition, 300 billion won is not seen as an excessive premium. From a performance perspective as well, it is not an asset that has been completely impaired. Homeplus Express posts annual sales of around 1 trillion won and remains in the black on an EBITDA basis.
◇ MEGA MGC COFFEE enters as a bidder… aiming to pivot the business structure
The standout bidder in this preliminary round is MGC Global, operator of Mega Coffee. With large distribution corporations sitting out, the entry of a player from a different sector has quickly made it a strong contender.
The market views its participation not as mere scale expansion but as an attempt to pivot its business structure by securing a distribution channel. MGC Global has grown on the back of a nationwide franchise network but faces the limitation of sales concentrated in-store. If it secures the Homeplus Express network, it could sell private-brand (PB) products, home meal replacement (HMR), and RTD beverages through a separate distribution channel, thereby expanding "out-of-store sales."
In practice, synergies are more likely to materialize in products and distribution than through physical coupling between stores. One approach is to develop coffee- and dessert-based products leveraging Mega Coffee's brand recognition and sell them at Express stores or use the stores as a channel to test new products. An industry official explained, "Franchise stores have limited sales channels, but once you secure a distribution network, you establish a foundation to expand into a product business."
There is also talk of potential linkage with BoraTR, a food material import and distribution corporations owned by Chairman Kim Daeyoung. BoraTR has an imported food material distribution network, and if the Homeplus Express store network is secured, it could sell some products through its own distribution channel.
There is a clear line drawn against the notion that the move is for real estate investment. Homeplus Express operates on a lease- and franchise-centered model and, unlike hypermarkets, has limited owned real estate assets. Accordingly, the focus of this bid appears to be on securing the store network and distribution capabilities.
There is also an interpretation that, in the mid to long term, this is a strategy with further mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in mind. The industry expects MGC Global could acquire additional HMR manufacturers or logistics corporations to build an integrated consumer goods distribution structure. The push to acquire Homeplus Express is seen as an intermediate step in that expansion.
An industry official said, "With a bidder that could expect strategic synergies stepping in, the likelihood of a transaction has increased, but with a small bidder pool, the price inevitably goes down," adding, "In the end, the additional LOI intake is more about defending the price than closing the transaction."