이 기사는 2022년 01월 25일 08시11분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Lotte Corp, the holding company of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, has postponed its plan to issue a bond after being named as a preferred bidder for Ministop Korea.

Lotte Corp has cancelled its plan to launch a bookbuilding process initially scheduled for January 21, according to industry sources. The company has made the decision to notify potential investors about the fact that it has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire Ministop Korea.

The registration statement that Lotte Corp issued on January 18 didn’t include information on its possible acquisition of Ministop Korea. The race for the convenience store chain included Lotte Corp, which participated in the final round of bidding in December 2021, Shinsegae’s convenience store chain Emart24, and a consortium consisting of Nepstone Holdings.

Lotte Corp offered 300 billion won for Ministop Korea, outbidding the two rivals which offered some 200 billion won.

“We have decided to postpone the bond offering to a later date in consideration of various circumstances such as investor protection,” said the company. “We will cancel the remaining schedule with the consent of the lead bookrunner.”

Lotte Corp planned to raise up to 500 billion won in its bond issuance. With the cancellation, the company will have to come up with a new timeline for its bond issuance and resubmit its registration statement.

The company is expected to resume the process before its debt reaches maturity in April, depending on response from investors. (Reporting by Chan-mi Oh)