Homeplus will file an immediate appeal against the Seoul Bankruptcy Court's decision on the 20th to terminate its rehabilitation proceedings. The move comes after the labor union, MBK Partners, Homeplus's largest shareholder, and Meritz Financial Group, its largest creditor, agreed to pursue a 200 billion won debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing loan.
Homeplus said on the 16th that the Mart Industry Labor Union, the general labor union, MBK Partners, and Meritz Financial Group had reached an agreement to continue the rehabilitation proceedings.
Under the agreement, MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim will provide a joint guarantee for the 200 billion won DIP loan for Homeplus. Meritz agreed to pursue the DIP loan on the condition of Chairman Kim's joint guarantee and to cooperate with future procedures to approve the rehabilitation plan.
The mart union and the general union agreed to cooperate in reducing the company's cost burden during the process of closing 37 stores included in Homeplus's structural innovation plan. Homeplus plans to use the funds saved during the closure process for business normalization, including product purchases.
Reflecting the terms of this agreement, Homeplus plans to submit the immediate appeal to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on the 20th. If the court cancels its decision to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings and the process resumes, the emergency operating funds will be disbursed once the procedures required to execute the DIP loan are completed.
Once the rehabilitation proceedings resume, Homeplus plans to complete its remaining structural innovation work while pursuing the sale of its remaining business divisions, including headquarters, hypermarkets, and online operations. The plan is to secure the consent of major creditors and obtain approval of the rehabilitation plan.
The DIP negotiations, which had faced difficulties due to differences between MBK and Meritz, reportedly reached an agreement through the mediation of Rep. Yoo Dong-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, head of the Homeplus Normalization Task Force (TF).
The 67 hypermarkets nationwide, which have been temporarily closed since the 13th, will set their reopening schedules after the court decides to resume the rehabilitation proceedings, following consultations with partner companies on product supply and other matters.
