SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) - The Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into MBK Partners, Homeplus, and Lotte Card over allegations of unfair internal transactions, sources said Wednesday.
Regulators dispatched investigators to the offices of the three companies on Tuesday to collect documents and other materials potentially related to violations of the country’s fair trade laws.
At the center of the inquiry is whether Lotte Card offered preferential corporate card terms and credit limits to Homeplus, a major retail chain. Both companies are backed by MBK Partners, a private equity firm which owns Homeplus.
The commission is also reviewing whether more than 100 billion won (about $75 million) in annual interest payments from Homeplus to MBK Partners, tied to redeemable convertible preferred shares, constitute an improper internal transaction.
MBK acquired Homeplus in 2015 for 7.2 trillion won, financing roughly 5 trillion won of the deal through debt taken on in Homeplus’s name. That included 700 billion won in preferred shares issued to Korea Retail Investment, a special-purpose vehicle created by MBK to facilitate the acquisition.
During a National Assembly session on March 18, FTC Chairman Han Ki-jeong addressed lawmakers' concerns, stating that the commission would “verify the specific facts” of the arrangement.
An FTC spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, saying only, “We cannot confirm anything related to cases under investigation.”
reporter
Candice Kim
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
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