MBK Injects 100 Billion Won in Emergency Funds Into Homeplus: "Recognizing the Severity of the Crisis, Including Delayed Salaries"

MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus, will inject 100 billion won in emergency funds into Homeplus, which is currently facing a crisis due to worsening liquidity and delayed salary payments.

On January 16, MBK Partners announced in a statement, "To secure the minimum amount of time needed for Homeplus to recover, we will directly provide 100 billion won out of a total of 300 billion won in emergency operating funds (DIP financing)."

Currently, Homeplus requires a total of 300 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to secure emergency operating funds. MBK Partners has decided to advance 100 billion won of the 200 billion won it had originally planned to provide upon completion of the merger and acquisition (M&A), and will now execute this amount as emergency operating funds.

This decision was made in consideration of the seriousness of the recent unpaid salary crisis at Homeplus. Due to a cash shortage, Homeplus has been unable to pay January salaries to employees on time, and some stores have closed, deepening the management crisis. The market expects this capital injection to act as a catalyst, accelerating negotiations for financial support with creditors such as Meritz Financial Group and Korea Development Bank.

An MBK Partners representative stated, "Homeplus is a community that supports the livelihoods of approximately 100,000 employees and their families, as well as the survival of thousands of tenant companies and partners," adding, "We believe it is MBK Partners' responsibility to do our utmost to help the community regain stability and trust."

The representative continued, "We hope this decision will serve as a starting point for quickly concluding DIP loan negotiations," and added, "If given the time and opportunity to overcome this crisis, we will do our best to achieve the sustainable normalization of Homeplus."