[비즈한국] SK Ecoplant has acquired the development site of the former Homeplus in Haeundae, Busan, for 320 billion won. After subrogating 650 billion won in bridge loans for the project, SK Ecoplant initially aimed to recover its claims by selling the land. However, after the public auction failed five consecutive times, the company stepped in as a direct buyer. Having originally participated as a joint shareholder and construction contractor, it has now transitioned from a creditor to the site owner.
According to BizHankook's coverage, SK Ecoplant placed a sole bid and won the 6th public auction for the former Homeplus Haeundae branch site, conducted by Kyobo Asset Trust on the 12th of last month, for 320 billion won. The winning bid represents 63% of the appraised value of 505.7234 billion won, matching the minimum bid price for the 6th auction. SK Ecoplant signed the sales contract the following day and took ownership of the site on the 18th of the same month.
This site was where Haeundae Marine One PFV had been pursuing a large-scale mixed-use development project. In September 2022, Haeundae Marine One PFV purchased the 19,451㎡ site and existing building from Homeplus for 405 billion won, and in September 2024, received building permits for four buildings containing office and retail facilities, ranging from 8 floors underground to 51 floors above ground. SK Ecoplant participated in the project as both a joint shareholder with a 28.9% stake in the PFV and as the construction contractor.
The project stalled during the process of securing the main PF (project financing) for construction. The PFV had initially raised 650 billion won in bridge loans as seed money. Bridge loans are short-term loans used by developers for land acquisition and licensing costs, intended to be repaid once the main PF is secured. However, the transition to the main PF failed, and the bridge loan, which matured in May, was not repaid. SK Ecoplant, which had provided a debt assumption agreement for a portion of the bridge loan, subrogated the entire 650 billion won.
Following the subrogation, SK Ecoplant had planned to sell the project site to recover its claims. Kyobo Asset Trust initiated the public auction starting at the appraised value of 505.7 billion won, but it failed five times. When the minimum bid price dropped to 320 billion won for the 6th auction, SK Ecoplant placed a bid itself to acquire the land. It appears the company chose to buy the site rather than sell the development land at a low price, keeping options open for self-development or resale.
An official from SK Ecoplant stated, "We were forced to acquire the site as the public auctions continued to fail," adding, "No plans for the site's future utilization have been determined at this time."
Cases of construction firms directly taking over distressed PF project sites continue to occur. In 2023, GS E&C subrogated related debts and acquired a public auction site for 31 billion won after the developer’s bridge loan refinancing failed for the Gwangyang Hwanggeum District development project. In 2024, DL E&C also repaid 122 billion won in PF loans for the Icheon Gunryang-ri logistics center following the developer's bankruptcy. After repeated auction failures, they participated in the final round and purchased the logistics center for 128 billion won.
SK Ecoplant is a construction and engineering affiliate of SK Group. Recently, the company has been restructuring its business model to focus on semiconductors and AI infrastructure. In the first half of this year, its consolidated revenue reached 10.0504 trillion won, and its operating profit stood at 1.465 trillion won, an increase of 82% and 584%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. As of the end of June, the consolidated debt-to-equity ratio was 203%, up about 11 percentage points from the end of last year, while cash and cash equivalents decreased from 2.9397 trillion won to 1.7548 trillion won.