Latest news with #MBKPartners
Bloomberg
06-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Korean Cinema Chain CGV Faces Investor Push to Sell Asian Unit
South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV Co. is facing calls from financial investors to force a sale of a unit that manages theaters in Asia, people familiar with the matter said. MBK Partners Ltd. and Mirae Asset Securities Co., which together hold a 17.6% stake in the unit CGI Holdings Ltd. through a consortium, plan to exercise a right that would allow them to push CJ CGV to sell its entire stake in the unit alongside them, if a buyer for the entity is found, according to the people.
UPI
09-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
MBK Partners urged to repay debts owed to individual investors
A criminal complaint filed with South Korean prosecutors alleged that MBK Partners issued or helped issue commercial papers and asset-backed, short-term bonds knowing that Home Plus lacked the capacity to repay them, causing investors to lose about $400 million. File Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA SEOUL, July 9 (UPI) -- A lawyer whose firm is suing MBK Partners over investor losses has urged the financial company to repay debts owed to those who purchased asset-backed bonds related to Home Plus, South Korea's troubled discount chain. LawVax attorney Jang Jin-seok stated that position during an interview with UPI on Tuesday. The Seoul-based law firm filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutors late last month against senior executives of MBK and Home Plus. Included in them were MBK Chairman Michael Byungju Kim and Home Plus co-CEOs Kim Kwang-il and Joh Joo-yun. The complaint alleges that they issued or helped issue commercial papers and asset-backed, short-term bonds knowing that Home Plus lacked the capacity to repay them, causing investors to lose about $400 million. "Due to mounting losses and deteriorating credit ratings, Home Plus relied on short-term funding to stay afloat, and toward that end, it devised unique asset-based bonds, which attracted individual investors," Jang said. "And all of a sudden, Home Plus filed for corporate rehabilitation in early March, just after its credit ratings downgrade. This indicates that the retail chain had no intention of repaying its debts. At the very least, MBK and Home Plus must address this issue," he said. Home Plus refuted Jang's claims. "Home Plus made every effort to turn the business around to the last minute, as shown by its attempts to reduce debt ratios," a company spokesperson said in a phone interview. "However, these efforts were not fully effective, as the virus pandemic and the rise of e-commerce continued to negatively impact our business," he said. Home Plus noted that its debt ratio improved to 462% as of this January, compared to 1,506% in the same period of 2024. MBK acquired Home Plus from Tesco in 2015 for $5.1 billion. However, the company has been in steady decline, particularly since 2021, posting consecutive annual losses. Its operations suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid rise of online retailers like Coupang, which eroded its traditional brick-and-mortar business model. On Feb. 28, South Korea's credit rating agencies downgraded Home Plus's corporate rating from A3 to A3-. Four days later, it filed for corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. "It seems that MBK gave up Home Plus last year and dispatched Kim Kwang-il to the company to oversee its exit strategy," Jang said. "And the credit ratings cut may have convinced MBK and Home Plus that short-term funding was no longer viable, so they chose to walk away without caring about the debts owed to individual investors." Kim Kwang-il was appointed co-CEO of Home Plus early last year to lead the corporation with Joh Joo-yun, former chief of McDonald's Korea. Jang criticized Kim for taking on too many roles, noting that he reportedly serves multiple positions for 18 companies, mostly MBK affiliates like Home Plus and Lotte Card. In regard to a potential sale of Home Plus, Jang also was skeptical. MBK is seeking to avoid liquidation by selling the retailer. To do so, the outfit pledged to write off its entire stake in Home Plus worth $1.8 billion. "MBK now claims that Home Plus is an attractive opportunity after cancelling $1.8 billion stake," Jang said. "If that is true, why doesn't MBK take over operations of Home Plus again? In case MBK can revive the supermarket chain, it does not have to give up its stake on Home Plus." In response, Home Plus said that the attempt to sell the company is aimed at saving nearly 20,000 employees, along with numerous suppliers and stakeholders. It added that MBK has made significant sacrifices to support this.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Seoul Bankruptcy Court approves Homeplus' M&A deal
The Seoul Bankruptcy Court in South Korea has approved the pursuit of a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal by discount store chain Homeplus before a court ruling on its rehabilitation plan. The move is designed to facilitate the repayment of creditors and secure employment for the company's workforce. The court's approval allows Homeplus to select an M&A adviser and proceed with the deal, ensuring terms that are favourable to all parties, including creditors and employees. Homeplus, which filed for corporate rehabilitation in March 2025, must submit its rehabilitation plan by 10 July. The decision to allow the chain to engage in an M&A deal comes after its corporate bonds were downgraded due to financial health concerns. Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, a court-appointed accountancy company, has been recommended to oversee the sale process, which is expected to take two to three months. MBK Partners, the private equity company that owns Homeplus, has committed to supporting the sale and plans to write off Won2.5tn ($1.83bn) worth of common shares, as reported by Reuters. The court's statement highlighted the benefits of the sale, which include channelling funds into the company, repaying debts and avoiding bankruptcy to protect partner companies. Following Homeplus' request for court-assisted rehabilitation, MBK Partners has faced scrutiny from various regulatory authorities. The National Tax Service has initiated a tax probe while the Korea Fair Trade Commission is investigating potential insider trading involving MBK Partners, Homeplus and Lotte Card, a local card issuer. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is examining MBK Partners' role in the issuance of short-term bonds for Homeplus, amid concerns that it may have been planning the court-led rehabilitation covertly. "Seoul Bankruptcy Court approves Homeplus' M&A deal" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
20-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Struggling retailer Homeplus gets approval for sale plan from South Korean court
SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - A South Korean court approved on Friday grocery retailer Homeplus's plan to sell the struggling company, in a move that the court said was aimed at providing funds to repay creditors and to ensure job security for employees at the company. In March, MBK Partners, a private equity firm which owns the company, filed for a court-led restructuring of Homeplus, marking a setback to the firm's marquee, $6.1 billion deal made more than a decade ago. A spokesperson for MBK said on Friday it will support the successful sale of the company and plans to write off 2.5 trillion won ($1.83 billion) worth of common shares that it holds in the company as part of the sale. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved a plan to appoint accounting firm Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers to manage the sale, which will take two of three months, the court said in a statement. The court said the sale would help channel funds into the company and pay back debts to its creditors, while guaranteeing the job security of Homeplus employees and protecting partner firms by avoiding bankruptcy. ($1 = 0.7424 pounds) ($1 = 1,369.2100 won)
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
MBK plans to sell its troubled Korean supermarket chain Homeplus
SEOUL/HONG KONG, June 13 (Reuters) - MBK Partners is seeking to sell its embattled South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus by issuing new shares, to avert liquidation of the retailer, the Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm said on Friday. The firm will then cancel shares worth 2.5 trillion Korean won ($1.83 billion) it currently owns in the company as it hands over control of Homeplus to the new buyer, according to a statement. MBK's cancellation of its Homeplus shares would translate into a hefty loss on what was Asia's biggest leverage buyout a decade ago. In March, MBK filed for a court-led restructuring of South Korea's No. 2 grocery retailer to avoid bankruptcy of the firm, which is still reeling from the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing competition from e-commerce rivals. A recent court-commissioned review showed the retailer's liquidation value was higher than its value as a going concern, MBK said in its statement. In a separate statement on Thursday, Homeplus said the company had a liquidation value of 3.7 trillion won, with 6.8 trillion won of total assets. The sale will target strategic buyers, said a person familiar with the situation. In 2024, MBK launched a sale process for Homeplus Express, the supermarket business of Homeplus, said the source and a second one with knowledge of the matter. But that process stopped when Homeplus entered court-led restructuring, the first source said. Both sources sought anonymity as the information was not public. The firm led a consortium in 2015 to buy Homeplus from Britain's Tesco (TSCO.L), opens new tab for 4 billion pounds ($6.1 billion) with co-investments from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment (PSP) and Singapore state investor Temasek. The consortium provided equity of 3.2 trillion won and funded the deal with 2.8 trillion of debt, MBK said. CPPIB, which co-invested $534 million for a 21.5% stake in Homeplus according to its disclosure back then, had earlier written off its investment and exited the company, said a third person with knowledge of the matter. PSP and Temasek each held a smaller stake than CPPIB respectively, according to a fourth person with knowledge of the matter. The two firms have not disclosed their holdings in Homeplus. CPPIB, PSP and Temasek, who are also limited partners in MBK's private equity funds, declined to comment on their Homeplus investments. MBK declined to comment on the co-investors. South Korean prosecutors are investigating whether MBK Partners approved Homeplus's debt issue in 2025 despite prior knowledge of a credit downgrade for the retailer. MBK has denied the accusation. In May, prosecutors banned foreign travel by the chairman of MBK Partners, Kim Byung-ju, in their investigation. ($1=1,369.6 won)
