A prospective buyer for Homeplus Co., which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation, emerged on the 31st.
Homeplus Co. closed submissions for letters of intent (LOI) at 3 p.m. that day, and two parties were said to have participated. MBK Partners, the controlling shareholder of Homeplus Co., did not disclose the number of bidders or their names, citing the ongoing sale process.
However, artificial intelligence (AI) solution corporations Harex InfoTech said it submitted an LOI that day. A NongHyup official, recently mentioned as a potential buyer, told ChosunBiz, "We did not consider acquiring Homeplus Co. at all. We did not submit an LOI." The market is saying that a total of two companies, including Harex InfoTech, submitted LOIs.
Homeplus Co., which entered corporate rehabilitation on Mar. 4, is seeking a new buyer. Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the sale manager for Homeplus Co., had pursued a merger and acquisition (M&A) using a "stalking horse" method that identifies a preferred negotiating partner first, but with no progress, it switched to an open competitive bid on the 2nd.
According to the open bidding schedule, prospective buyers will begin due diligence from the 3rd to the 21st of next month. Based on the results, they will decide by the 26th whether to submit a final bid proposal.
Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers will review the submitted LOIs, financing plans, and business plans, then sign nondisclosure agreements (NDA) for due diligence with those that submitted letters of intent. In addition, it plans to hold talks with additional prospective buyers expressing intent to acquire after the preliminary bid date and up to the final bid date.
The sale will proceed by canceling without compensation all common shares held by controlling shareholder MBK Partners, excluding preferred shares among existing shares, and issuing new shares to be acquired by a third party.
Homeplus Co. is the No. 2 player in Korea's big-box retail sector, with annual sales of about 7 trillion won. It operates many large stores in major cities nationwide and has a nationwide logistics network.
With LOIs submitted that day, the deadline for filing the rehabilitation plan, scheduled for the 10th of next month, is expected to be postponed to match the open bidding timetable. A Homeplus Co. official said, "We will do our best until the end so that the open bidding can be successfully concluded."