On the 18th, Homeplus announced that it repaid 51.5 billion won of the 1.2 trillion won loan borrowed from three Meritz Financial affiliates using the proceeds from the sale of its Shinnae store in Jungnang-gu, Seoul.
Homeplus stated, "The sale of the Shinnae store, which began before the initiation of the rehabilitation process, was completed on the 15th," and noted, "We have received court approval for early payment of rehabilitation claims and have repaid part of the Meritz loan using the proceeds from the Shinnae store sale."
It also emphasized, "This early repayment of the Meritz loan is the first case of repaying financial claims, not commercial claims related to the rehabilitation procedure."
With this repayment, the remaining balance of the Meritz loan is in the range of 1.1 trillion won. Homeplus reported that it plans to re-enter the site once the Shinnae site is redeveloped and the new building is completed.
The Shinnae store employees stated that they would guarantee 100% employment by transitioning them to nearby stores and providing separate employment stabilization support funds.
Homeplus has selected Samil Accounting Corporation as the sale agent and is undertaking mergers and acquisitions (M&A) ahead of the corporate rehabilitation plan approval.