April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] E-Land Group has postponed its plan to list its retail subsidiary to the first half of next year, the South Korean conglomerate announced on April 3. 

E-Land Retail has over 50 outlets and department stores across the country while its subsidiary E-Land Park operates restaurants and resort chains. 

The group planned an initial public offering in March for E-Land Retail to secure funds for lower its debt-equity ratio below 200 percent, and had filed for a preliminary review December 2016. 

E-Land Park, however, has been accused of delaying wage payments for its short-term employees and the preliminary review had to be pushed back. 

While the IPO timetable has been put off, the group is speeding up its restructuring. It will sell its stake in E-Land Retail and secure over 600 billion won (US$535.80 million) to resolve its 300 billion won redeemable convertible preference shares. E-Land World, the de facto holding company of the group, will also take over the retail unit’s stake in E-Land Park.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)