April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Meritz Financial Group has decided to inject 300 billion won (US$282.53 million) into E-Land Group to chip into plans for raising 1 trillion won to finance the cash-strapped Korean retail giant’s turnaround.

Industry sources said on Jan. 15 that after calling off the deal in December, Meritz finally decided to join the investment consortium led by Korea’s Keystone Private Equity. An E-Land spokesperson confirmed the deal to The Investor, adding that an official announcement is due later this week. 

Talks have been intermittent due to demands from Meritz for a bigger stake and more management leeway to hedge its investment. Both E-Land and Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners which invested in E-Land, have been at odds over these conditions.

E-Land World, the group’s de facto holding unit, had hoped to secure 1 trillion won last year to design a restructuring that includes creating an official holding company. So far, it has received half of the 200 billion won investment promised by Anchor Equity Partners. E-Land planned to secure the remaining 800 billion won by selling 20-30 percent of its convertible preferred shares to the Keystone-led consortium by the year-end. But at the last minute, Meritz had pulled out.

Sources say E-Land has since then acquiesced to most of Mertiz’s demands. 

By Song Seung-hyun(ssh@heraldcorp.com)