Hyundai Department Store Considers Partial Acquisition of CJ Olive Young Shares

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Hyundai Department Store is confirmed to be considering acquiring a stake by participating in the pre-IPO (pre-listing equity investment) promoted by the health and beauty (H&B) store CJ Olive Young.

According to the industry on the 11th, Hyundai Department Store is reviewing a plan to purchase some shares by participating in the pre-IPO that CJ Olive Young is promoting ahead of its planned 2022 listing. Hyundai Department Store was included in the shortlist of qualified bidders in the previous preliminary bidding.

CJ is promoting the pre-IPO aiming for an IPO in 2022. The transaction target is a minority stake held by the owner family, including Lee Sun-ho, head of CJ CheilJedang and eldest son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, and Lee Jae-hwan, CEO of CJ Powercast and brother of the chairman, and is unrelated to management rights.

The largest shareholder of CJ Olive Young, CJ Corporation, holds 55% of the shares. Lee Sun-ho, CJ head, and Lee Jae-hwan, CEO of CJ Powercast, hold 17.97% and 10.03%, respectively.

Hyundai Department Store’s consideration of acquiring shares in CJ Olive Young is interpreted as an effort to strengthen cooperation by owning some shares of CJ Olive Young in relation to its recently expanding cosmetics business.

In May, Hyundai Department Store entered the cosmetics business by acquiring 51% of Cleanzen Cosmeceutical, a functional cosmetics specialist company, and in August, it officially entered the beauty and healthcare business by acquiring SK Bioland, a natural cosmetics raw material manufacturer.

At that time, Hyundai Department Store stated, "The acquisition of SK Bioland is a foothold to expand the business area as a ‘total life care company’" and "We plan to continuously discover future growth engines in the beauty and healthcare sectors."

Regarding the acquisition of CJ Olive Young shares, a Hyundai Department Store official said, "We are considering acquiring a minority stake for business cooperation," adding, "Nothing has been decided yet."