이 기사는 2021년 10월 27일 08시07분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

S&I Corp, LG Corp’s wholly owned subsidiary, is set to sell all of its businesses except its leisure division, a move seen as part of efforts by LG Corp to avoid regulatory scrutiny from the country’s competition watchdog.

LG Corp is in advanced discussions to sell S&I Corp’s construction business to GS Engineering & Construction, according to industry sources. A majority stake in S&I Corp’s facility management business is also up for sale.

S&I Corp’s sale of its key businesses is part of efforts by its parent company to respond to tightened competition regulation.

Under the revised fair trade law, effective December 30, 2021, a threshold of the owner family’s shareholding in companies subject to regulation on intercompany transactions will be lowered to 20% for both listed and unlisted companies. Subsidiaries that are 50% or more owned by those companies will be also subject to such regulation.

S&I Corp is 100% owned by LG Corp, South Korean conglomerate LG Group’s holding company. S&I Corp, formerly known as ServeOne, has grown through intercompany transactions, with LG’s affiliates such as LG Electronics and LG Chem accounting more than 70% of the company’s total revenue in 2019.

In September 2018, ServeOne carved out its maintenance, repair and operation division and named the new entity SeveOne, while renaming the existing entity S&I Corp. In the following year, S&I Corp sold a 60.1% stake in ServeOne to private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners for about 604 billion won ($519 million).

S&I Corp is also in the process of finding a buyer for approximately a 60% stake in its facility management business, with final offers expected to be submitted this Friday. Among the shortlisted potential buyers in the bidding race are Affinity Equity Partners, IMM Private Equity and Macquarie Private Equity.

S&I Corp’s construction and facility management businesses represented nearly 96% of the company’s overall revenue of 1.7 trillion won in 2020. The sale of both divisions will leave the company to focus only on the leisure business.

S&I Corp operates a resort and a golf club in Gonjiam, Gyeonggi Province. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)