Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 1-MBK picked for South Korea's Hi-mart stake

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UPDATE 1-MBK picked for South Korea's Hi-mart stake Jun 25th 2012, 11:51 Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:51am EDT * MBK Partners bid as high as $1.1 bln-report * Lotte, Eugene, Hi-mart stocks tumble on disappointment * MBK bid could be backed with institutional money-report (Adds background, details) By Joyce Lee and Joonhee Yu SEOUL, June 25 (Reuters) - South Korean private equity fund MBK Partners has been chosen as preferred bidder for a controlling stake in electronics retailer in Hi-mart Co Ltd , with local media putting the bid value as high as 1.25 trillion korean won ($1.1 billion). Hi-Mart's largest shareholder Eugene Corp and two other shareholders had put a combined 65.3 percent stake in the company for sale. The auction, which earlier ran into headwinds when Hi-mart chief executive Sun Jong-koo and others were charged with embezzlement of $228 million, had also attracted a bid from Lotte Shopping, which local media had tipped as a front runner. MBK's successful bid could make it among Asia's top three private equity deals this year. Hi-Mart did not disclose the bid value in a regulatory filing announcing the preferred bidder. Shares in Hi-mart, Lotte and Eugene all tumbled on the news. Eugene closed 9 percent down, while Hi-mart fell 7.4 percent as some investors had favoured an acquisition by South Korean retailer Lotte. Lotte shares fell 3.9 percent on disappointment that the company failed to win the auction. South Korea's main KOSPI share index was down 1.2 percent on the day. South Korean media reported that a significant part of the money backing MBK's bid could come from domestic pension funds, insurers and other financial institutions. The combined shareholding of Eugene Corp, Sun Jong-koo, HI Consortium Investment Co Ltd, and private equity fund H&Q Asia Pacific that was put up for sale was worth 853.4 billion Korean won ($737.6 million) as of Friday's closing price. ($1 = 1156.9750 Korean won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Joonhee Yu; Writing by Stephen Aldred; Editing by Denny Thomas and Elaine Hardcastle) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions