Homeplus Co. said on the 25th it will begin a pre-approval merger and acquisition (M&A) process for the remaining business units, excluding its supermarket division, "Homeplus Express (hereinafter Express)."
The remaining business units consist of headquarters, online, and hypermarkets. If a third-party corporations that does not currently own hypermarkets acquires them, it is expected to immediately rise to No. 3 in the domestic hypermarket industry.
The sale manager is Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the same as for the Express sale. It has reportedly sent official teasers to potential buyers and begun the sale in earnest.
This pre-approval M&A will proceed through an open bidding process. In particular, it is set to proceed subject to approval by the Seoul Bankruptcy Court.
On the 7th, Homeplus Co. signed a business transfer agreement for Express with NS Home Shopping, a distribution affiliate of Harim Group. Express operates 287 stores nationwide.
Total assets are currently assessed at about 317 billion won, and net worth at about 146 billion won. It is said to have secured about 126 billion won in cash on the condition that NS Home Shopping succeeds to part of Express's debt. However, it is expected to take about two months for the actual sale proceeds to be received.