[Edaily Marketin Reporter KIM SUNG-SOO ] The new owner of the E-Mart Pyeongchon branch is expected to be revealed soon. As the sale of the E-Mart Pyeongchon branch, owned by Marston Investment Management, enters its final stages, a development company has been selected as the preferred bidder.

It has been confirmed that discussions are currently underway to coordinate the terms of the store handover with E-Mart. As the Pyeongchon branch is regarded as a prime asset with both a prime location and development potential, the transaction is expected to move forward quickly once the handover negotiations are finalized.

Preferred Negotiation Partner

Selected

for Pyeongchon Store… Handover Negotiations Underway

According to the financial investment industry on the 21st, Marston Investment Management recently selected

a preferred negotiation partner

for the sale of the E-Mart Pyeongchon branch and is currently conducting follow-up negotiations. However, it is reported that additional procedures remain before the final contract is signed, as discussions regarding

the handover

and transaction terms are still ongoing.

The E-Mart Pyeongchon branch is a key commercial asset located at 300 Simin-daero, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. It is situated directly in front of Pyeongchon Station on Subway Line 4. The property is held by a real estate fund managed by Marston Investment Management and is regarded as an asset with high development potential among those being sold.

The fund that includes the E-Mart Pyeongchon branch was established in 2019 through a sale-and-leaseback transaction initiated by E-Mart to secure liquidity.

At that time, E-Mart sold a total of 13 stores—including the Pyeongchon branch, as well as the Cheonho, Dongincheon, Banyawol, Pocheon, Sanbon, Suwon, Yangju, Geomdan, Jinjeop, Gumi, Suseok, and Ilsan branches—to Marston Investment Management and continued operations by leasing them back.

The sale price totaled 952.5 billion won. Marston Investment Management incorporated the assets into the “Marston KB Specialized Investment Private Real Estate Investment Trust No. 64,” and KB Securities established a 7-year real estate fund worth approximately 1.0244 trillion won. At the time, KB Securities served as the financial lead manager for the E-Mart store asset securitization transaction.

Although Marston Investment Management considered development projects for some of the assets, it shifted its strategy to sequentially sell off its holdings as the fund’s maturity approached. It is reported that the Pyeongchon store was also put on the market as part of this exit strategy.

Expectations That E-Mart Will Benefit from Homeplus’s Vacancy

Market analysts suggest that the sale of the E-Mart Pyeongchon store goes beyond a simple real estate transaction and is intertwined with the broader trend of restructuring in the retail industry.

As Homeplus has recently been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy, expectations are growing in the hypermarket sector that E-Mart’s dominance will further strengthen. This is because if Homeplus, a major competitor, continues to close stores and suspend operations, customer traffic is likely to shift toward E-Mart.

The revised rehabilitation plan submitted by Homeplus on the 30th of last month includes a restructuring of its hypermarket network from 126 stores to 67, along with a 50% reduction in its workforce. If this plan is implemented, Lotte Mart—which was previously third in terms of store count (112 stores nationwide)—will rise to second place, while E-Mart will maintain its top position with 157 stores.

The securities industry also forecasts that E-Mart’s earnings improvement in the second half of the year will accelerate further. Analysts expect the influx of customers resulting from Homeplus’s store closures to take full effect, which will further highlight E-Mart’s competitiveness in its core retail business.

Hana Securities analyzed that the closure of 59 Homeplus stores led to a 10% increase in sales at nearby E-Mart stores, boosting the overall growth rate of existing stores by 2 percentage points (p). Consequently, expectations for E-Mart’s third-quarter earnings are also rising.

According to FnGuide, E-Mart’s third-quarter revenue is projected to reach 7.4794 trillion won, and operating profit 211.7 billion won—representing year-over-year increases of 1.06% and 39.81%, respectively.

Industry observers believe these changes in the business environment will also have a positive impact on the asset value of the Pyeongchon store. This is because, if the stability of store operations improves, the company can secure rental income without rushing development and adjust the timing of development in line with market conditions.

A real estate industry official stated, “The Pyeongchon store is an asset with excellent location competitiveness as well as development potential,” adding, “Once the eviction negotiations are finalized, the transaction is expected to move forward quickly.”