[비즈한국] Homeplus has submitted an amended rehabilitation plan, but the 200 billion won funding plan—a critical variable in the rehabilitation process—has yet to be presented. As the gap between Meritz Financial Group and MBK Partners remains wide, skepticism is growing regarding the feasibility of the funding plan Homeplus is expected to submit to the court.
Profitability Recovery Emphasized, but… 200 Billion Won Funding Plan Still Missing
On the 29th, Homeplus announced it would submit an amendment to its revised rehabilitation plan to the Seoul Rehabilitation Court. Homeplus explained that it aims to save approximately 1.2 trillion won in costs by restructuring its 126 hypermarkets into 67 core stores following the rehabilitation process, adjusting rents, selling Homeplus Express stores, and improving human resource efficiency. Based on this, the company projected that once product supply chain normalization is achieved, it could generate an annual operating profit of 80 billion won, with the potential to scale to 150 billion won within three years.
However, the market views this outlook as an optimistic estimate based on the premise of normalized product supply and revenue recovery. While the reduction in store count and personnel has lowered the cost burden, there is growing doubt about Homeplus's position that it can recover profitability in the short term, given that the revenue base has also shrunk.
With the deadline for the rehabilitation plan approval approaching, Homeplus is effectively backed into a corner. As the court has kept open the possibility of terminating the rehabilitation process, employees, partners, and store owners are pleading for an extension, stating that bankruptcy must be avoided at all costs.
On the 26th, 11,480 people, including the Hanmaeum Council (the employee representative body), partners, and store owners, submitted a petition to the e-People government portal urging government support. Homeplus's general labor union and the headquarters issued a joint statement saying, "If we are given time through an extension of the rehabilitation process, we can orderly liquidate assets, allowing for debt repayment and potential rehabilitation." The Homeplus Mart Industry Labor Union also submitted a request to the court for a two-month extension, until September, for the rehabilitation plan approval deadline.
However, for demands for an extension or government support to be persuasive, a plan for raising an additional 200 billion won must first be presented to prove the feasibility of the rehabilitation plan. The Seoul Rehabilitation Court previously judged that without the 200 billion won backing, it is difficult to guarantee the feasibility of the proposed plan, and demanded the submission of realistic and concrete supporting documents by the 30th.
The amended rehabilitation plan submitted by Homeplus does not include the 200 billion won funding plan. Homeplus intends to submit a separate funding plan. A Homeplus official explained, "Data regarding the 200 billion won funding will be submitted separately in accordance with the opinion inquiry procedure. The deadline for submission is 5 PM on the 30th," adding, "We have not yet been informed of any updates on how it is proceeding."
Funding Deadline Approaches; Meritz and MBK Still at Odds
The Seoul Rehabilitation Court has demanded that Homeplus submit an additional funding plan while also conducting an opinion inquiry among the creditors' council, shareholders, labor unions, and employee representatives regarding the "exclusion of the rehabilitation plan and termination of the rehabilitation process." This is interpreted as a procedural step where the court, having raised doubts about the feasibility of the existing plan, reviews stakeholders' opinions and Homeplus's additional evidence to decide the future of the rehabilitation process.
According to Bizhankook’s reporting, it was confirmed that the creditors' council submitted its response to the opinion inquiry on the 26th, just three days after the court initiated it on the 23rd.
The creditors' council consists of major financial creditors such as Meritz Securities 008560, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance 000060, Meritz Capital, Lotte Card, Kookmin Bank , and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund. Given that Homeplus has been negotiating with the creditors' council representative, Meritz Financial Group, for the additional 200 billion won in liquidity, the council's opinion is likely to act as a major variable in the court's decision. However, the specific contents of the council's response remain undisclosed. A Meritz Financial official stated, "It is difficult to comment on the content of the response."
Homeplus has been requesting bridge loans and DIP loan support from Meritz as emergency operating capital to maintain operations. A DIP (Debtor In Possession) loan is operating capital borrowed by a company in the rehabilitation process to continue its business, and it typically carries a priority repayment condition over existing debt. Meritz expressed its willingness to provide a 100 billion won DIP loan, but conditioned it on a guarantee from MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-ju. They also maintain that the remaining 100 billion won must be raised by MBK directly. In contrast, Homeplus has resisted, claiming that Meritz’s conditions are effectively impossible to meet.
Even with only one day left before the court's deadline, the gap between the two sides remains wide. In a statement on the 24th, Meritz Financial stated, "The responsibility for Homeplus's rehabilitation lies not with the government or Meritz, but with MBK and Chairman Kim Byung-ju," adding, "They should stop hiding behind the systemic loophole of private equity to shift responsibility to creditors and transparently disclose Chairman Kim's domestic and international asset status." Meritz reiterated in an interview with Bizhankook on the 29th that "the situation has not changed since our previous statement."
MBK Partners previously stated in a release that "they are obscuring the issues with a debate over assets," and asserted, "If Meritz truly wants Homeplus to recover, they should stop shifting responsibility and immediately provide the 200 billion won in emergency operating capital." With the deadline one day away, MBK maintains that there are no realistic alternatives other than financial support from Meritz. An MBK official, when asked about additional funding, stated, "Meritz's financial support must happen; as of now, there are no alternatives to Meritz."