Homeplus Express Put Up for Sale... Morgan Stanley Selected as Lead Manager

Major Shareholder MBK Initiates Sale Process

Homeplus has initiated the sale process of Homeplus Express, its corporate supermarket (SSM) business division.

According to the distribution industry on the 3rd, MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus, recently selected Morgan Stanley as the lead manager for the sale and has started the process of selling Homeplus Express.

Homeplus Express Siheung Baegot Branch.
[Photo by Homeplus]

The lead manager, Morgan Stanley, is reported to approach about 10 potential buyers, including domestic and international retail companies and e-commerce platforms, within this month to gauge their interest in the acquisition.

Homeplus Express is considered one of the top four SSMs in South Korea, alongside major corporate affiliates such as GS The Fresh, Emart Everyday, and Lotte Super. Homeplus Express recorded sales of 1.2 trillion KRW last year, with an EBITDA margin of 8%. It operates 413 stores nationwide, with 235 of them concentrated in Seoul and the metropolitan area.

Regarding this, a Homeplus official stated, "It is true that Morgan Stanley has been selected as the lead manager for the sale of Homeplus Express," but added, "No other specific details have been finalized yet."

Meanwhile, Homeplus has recorded losses for three consecutive years. For the fiscal year 2023 (March 2023 to February 2024), Homeplus announced on the 31st that its total sales increased by 5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 6.9315 trillion KRW. Although the operating loss improved by 60.8 billion KRW to 199.4 billion KRW, the company has not yet returned to profitability. The net loss for the period increased by 128.4 billion KRW, from 445.9 billion KRW to 574.3 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.