Harim Group affiliate NS Shopping has agreed to acquire Homeplus Express, the supermarket arm of cash-strapped Homeplus, the company said Thursday.
Under the deal, Homeplus is set to receive 120.6 billion won ($83 million) in cash from NS Shopping, which will also assume part of the unit's liabilities. Homeplus Express currently holds about 317 billion won in total assets and 146 billion won in net assets.
The acquisition is set to take NS Shopping from its traditional TV home shopping and mobile commerce businesses into nationwide offline retail and logistics, giving parent company Harim — South Korea’s largest poultry processor — a vertically integrated food-to-retail operation.
NS Shopping described the deal as "a turning point" that would sharpen its competitiveness across both online and offline channels. "We will carefully review all relevant matters and do our utmost to ensure the remaining acquisition procedures proceed smoothly," a company official said.
For Homeplus, the sale offers a much-needed liquidity boost as it seeks to stabilize operations during rehabilitation proceedings, though the company acknowledged it still requires additional funding.
"Because the sale proceeds will not be received for another two months, we need additional liquidity both to fund operations until the cash inflow arrives and to carry out the rehabilitation plan," Homeplus said in a statement.
Homeplus entered court-led rehabilitation proceedings in March last year and has been seeking to offload the supermarket division to secure operating funds. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court has set July 3 as the deadline for approval of the retailer’s rehabilitation plan.
댓글
0