Homeplus拟上诉并获2000亿韩元DIP融资支持，但可交易映射不清

Homeplus will file an immediate appeal with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on the 20th against the decision to terminate its rehabilitation proceedings. The retailer is making a renewed attempt to resume the process after major shareholder MBK Partners, its largest creditor Meritz Financial Group, and its labor union agreed to arrange 200 billion won in emergency operating funds, known as debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
According to industry sources on the 19th, Homeplus plans to file the immediate appeal on the 20th, reflecting the agreement reached among the union, MBK Partners, and Meritz. It comes 17 days after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court decided to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings on the 3rd.
The immediate appeal follows a last-minute agreement among stakeholders over securing the 200 billion won in operating funds, which had been Homeplus's pressing challenge. Michael Byungju Kim, chairman of MBK Partners, agreed to provide a joint guarantee for the DIP loan.
Three Meritz Financial units—Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, Meritz Securities, and Meritz Capital—also held board meetings on the 16th and gave final approval to fully fund the 200 billion won, conditioned on the guarantees from MBK Partners and Chairman Kim. Meritz explained that the additional 100 billion won in support among that amount was a decision reached after much deliberation.
The Mart Industry Labor Union and the general labor union agreed to cooperate in reducing the company's financial burden during the process of closing 37 stores included in Homeplus's structural innovation plan. Homeplus plans to use the funds secured through the store closures to normalize operations, including product purchases.
While the funding injection has averted an immediate catastrophe that would collapse the livelihoods of employees and partner companies, analysts say the crisis is not over. Homeplus has closed 67 stores nationwide and entered temporary suspension since the 13th. Homeplus said it will establish a schedule for resuming operations after the funding plan is finalized and following consultations with partner companies.
However, concerns are emerging that 200 billion won alone will not last even a month. Converting Homeplus's cost of sales for the 2025-2026 fiscal year into the average monthly product purchase cost per store yields approximately 1.95 billion to 2.04 billion won. Assuming Homeplus resumes operations and runs 67 stores nationwide for about 50 days until September 4, the legal final deadline for approving the rehabilitation plan, product purchase costs alone would reach 217.9 billion to 228 billion won, exceeding the 2000 billion won in newly raised DIP financing. In addition, public-interest claims have more than tripled, from 332.8 billion won at the end of March last year, when the rehabilitation proceedings were filed, to 1.0999 trillion won at the end of May this year.
The rehabilitation proceedings will not resume immediately after the immediate appeal is filed. The court must review the funding plan presented by Homeplus and its future rehabilitation prospects to decide whether to cancel the decision to terminate the proceedings. The DIP funds will also be executed after the court's decision and the procedures required to execute the loan.
If the court decides to resume the rehabilitation proceedings, Homeplus intends to complete the remaining restructuring work and pursue mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for its remaining business divisions, including headquarters, hypermarkets, and online operations. It must also secure the consent of major creditors for the rehabilitation plan to be submitted going forward.
Whether the 67 hypermarkets nationwide, which entered temporary suspension since the 13th, will resume operations is also linked to the court's decision. If the rehabilitation proceedings resume, Homeplus plans to consult with partner companies on product supply and set a schedule for resuming operations at each store.