Meritz Financial Considers 100 Billion Won Support for Homeplus with Guarantees from MBK and Chairman Kim Byung-joo

MBK Partners Announces Additional Joint Guarantee Worth 100 Billion Won

Meritz Financial Group has decided to review providing an emergency debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan of 100 billion won to Homeplus, contingent not only on the guarantee of MBK Partners, the private equity fund manager and majority shareholder of Homeplus, but also on the personal guarantee of Chairman Kim Byung-joo.

On June 11, Meritz Securities stated, "We are currently confirming the specific guarantee conditions to provide financial support to Homeplus."

This support is intended to stabilize employment for Homeplus employees and to ease the payment burden for suppliers facing liquidity difficulties. Lawmakers from the Euljiro Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea also visited the Meritz Securities headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, that afternoon to request financial support.

Homeplus. Yonhap News Agency

Initially, Meritz Securities took a cautious stance regarding such support, but now considers that support of up to 100 billion won is possible, provided there are guarantees from both MBK Chairman Kim Byung-joo and the MBK Partners headquarters, given their creditworthiness.

The previous day, MBK Partners had announced that it would provide an additional joint guarantee worth 100 billion won to support Homeplus's rehabilitation. MBK stated, "This additional joint guarantee signifies our commitment as a shareholder to fulfill our responsibilities for the successful rehabilitation of Homeplus," adding, "We believe that successful rehabilitation is the most reasonable outcome in terms of employee retention, supplier protection, and stability in debt recovery."

However, since Meritz is requiring guarantees from both MBK Partners headquarters and Chairman Kim Byung-joo, the success of the support will depend on whether these conditions are met.

A Meritz representative commented, "Protecting the numerous stakeholders, including Homeplus employees and suppliers, is an important social responsibility for financial institutions," and added, "If the guarantees from MBK headquarters and Chairman Kim Byung-joo are secured, we will proceed with the support."

Meritz is the largest creditor of Homeplus. In March last year, Homeplus filed for rehabilitation procedures as part of restructuring efforts and has been under court receivership for over a year. Homeplus currently requires 200 billion won in emergency operating funds to continue business activities such as purchasing products and paying suppliers, as well as to promote mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for its remaining business units.

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