S. Korea's Homeplus files for up to $1.5 bln REIT IPO - term sheet

Netmarble

08/02/2019 08:24

By Julia Fioretti
    HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Private equity-controlled South
Korean hypermarket chain Homeplus Co Ltd has filed for a
domestic initial public offering of a real estate investment
trust (REIT) which could raise up to $1.5 billion, according to
a term sheet seen by Reuters.
    Homeplus, South Korea's second-largest hypermarket chain
with 142 stores, filed with the stock exchange on Friday and set
a price range of between 4,530 won ($4.03) and 5,000 won 
($4.45), the term sheet showed.
    The IPO could raise 1.6 trillion-1.7 trillion won ($1.4
billion-$1.51 billion) and give the REIT a valuation of between
2.2 trillion won and 2.5 trillion won ($1.96 billion-$2.23
billion). It would be South Korea's biggest IPO since Netmarble
Corp's  251270.KS  float in 2017.  
    Private equity firm MBK Partners bought Homeplus from Tesco
PLC  TSCO.L  for $6.1 billion in 2015.
    The proceeds from the IPO will be used to acquire properties
from Homeplus, the term sheet said.
    A spokesman for Homeplus did not have any immediate comment.
    South Korea's REITs listings are worth only a fraction of
other countries', with just a handful of REITs listed on the
benchmark KOSPI  .KS11  as of Friday, according to the Korea
Exchange website.
    Homeplus will begin the IPO roadshow on Feb. 28 and price it
on March 14, with the listing slated for March 29, according to
the term sheet.
    Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are joint global coordinators
for the transaction.
($1 = 1,123.5500 won)

 (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo
Jin in SEOUL; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((julia.fioretti@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2912 6686; Reuters
Messaging: julia.fioretti.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))