Emart Begins Sale Process of Seongsu-dong Headquarters... "Strategic Asset Reallocation"

Raising Funds for Starbucks Stake Acquisition Following eBay Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shinsegae Group's Emart has entered the process of selling its headquarters building in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Following the acquisition of eBay Korea, it has additionally acquired shares in Starbucks Korea to raise the necessary funds.

According to the distribution industry on the 29th, Emart and CBRE, the advisory firm for the Seongsu-dong headquarters asset liquidity, recently sent a Request for Proposal (RFP) to major domestic construction and development companies proposing the sale of the headquarters site and redevelopment plans. The bidding is expected to take place around September.

The Seongsu-dong headquarters has a total floor area of 99,000㎡ and currently houses the Emart headquarters and Emart Seongsu store.

Emart plans to acquire part of the newly constructed building after the redevelopment to showcase a future-oriented Emart. The strategy is to transform the Seongsu store, which is over 20 years old and outdated, into a future-oriented store from the customer's perspective to strengthen offline competitiveness and secure funds for the digital transformation of the company.

Already this year, Emart has made the largest-ever investments in about 15 stores to promote store renewals.

A company official explained, "The redevelopment of the headquarters and Seongsu store sites is part of a strategic reallocation of group assets that has been planned for years to maximize asset value by developing outdated stores into future-oriented stores and to secure investment funds for the digital transformation of the company."

Real estate and investment industries expect Emart to raise up to 1 trillion won through the sale of the headquarters building. It is anticipated that the proceeds will cover the funds used for acquiring shares in eBay Korea and Starbucks Coffee Korea and will be used to improve the financial structure.