KKR to buy Korean retailer Kim's Club - report

The two firms plan to set a final sales agreement by next month, E-Land told local media. Financial details of the transaction have not been set, but it has been suggested that KKR might pay KRW400-700 billion ($342-598 million). The GP will acquire all Kim's Club locations, as well as its auxiliary facilities.

E-Land operates 37 Kim's Club superstores; it acquired the chain, then named Haitai Retail, in 2005, and renamed the company after what was then its grocery division. In the years following the purchase, Kim's Club saw compound annual growth of 4.27%, but E-Land decided to sell the business earlier this year. The conglomerate faces growing levels of debt due to multiple acquisitions at home and overseas, along with the expansion of its retail and fashion business in China.

E-Land invited bids from local firms such as Shinsegae and Lotte, along with foreign investors. It named KKR as the preferred bidder in March.

KKR's most recent deal in the country recorded by AVCJ Research was the April 2015 $360 million investment alongside Anchor Equity Partners in e-commerce marketplace Ticket Monster. KKR and Affinity Equity Partners exited their stake in Oriental Brewery the previous year, for a reported 5x multiple on their $1.8 billion investment in 2009.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• North Asia
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Buyout
• South Korea
• KKR