Lotte Group reorganises

Seoul, Korea – 26 April 2017 –
South Korea conglomerate Lotte Group plans to divide four key businesses valued at about US$12 billion into operating and holding units, slashing the number of cross shareholdings to 18 from 67 and allowing its chairman to tighten his grip on a hotels-to-retail conglomerate rocked by a years-long family feud and a corruption trial.

1Lotte Confectionery Co. will absorb the investment companies created when the South Korean group’s shopping, food and beverage units are each split into operating and holding companies under a plan to be presented for shareholder approval on August 29, Lotte Group, Bloomberg reported. The confectionery unit’s investment company would then merge the holdings companies into a single entity, according to the filing.

A reorganisation could also unlock value and pave the way for an initial public offering of Hotel Lotte Co, a move that was delayed after prosecutors began an investigation of the company in June 2016. The hotel unit IPO is likely to take place in 2019, a Lotte official said earlier.