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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Meritz Financial Group, which extended a 1.2 trillion won (approx. $900 million USD) loan to South Korea's Homeplus, is expected to recover approximately 1 trillion won in the near future following the sale of some of the retailer's stores. The company had secured the loan with 62 properties, and recent developments indicate that the sale of several stores will allow Meritz to reclaim part of its loan.
According to financial industry sources on Tuesday, the sale of certain Homeplus stores has been successfully completed, enabling Meritz Financial to recover about 1 trillion won. These properties were already in the process of being sold before Homeplus unexpectedly filed for corporate rehabilitation (court receivership) on April 4. At the time of the filing, Homeplus was in the midst of negotiating the sale of two stores.
With this recovery, the amount Homeplus owes Meritz will decrease from 1.2 trillion won to 1.1 trillion won. However, the final confirmation of the loan recovery depends on the buyer's agreement and the court's judgment, according to sources.
In May of last year, Meritz Financial, through its subsidiaries Meritz Securities, Meritz Fire & Marine, and Meritz Capital, provided Homeplus with a 1.3 trillion won loan, secured by 62 of the company's stores. This was the largest loan extended to Homeplus by a financial institution, with the outstanding loan amount standing at 1.2 trillion won before the corporate rehabilitation filing.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
