[Edaily Marketin KIM SUNG-SOO Reporter] As the sale of the Homeplus Yeongdeungpo branch enters its final stages, attention is also turning to the fate of a 580 billion won loan set to mature on the 5th of next month.

Aegis Asset Management is currently conducting negotiations with the goal of closing the deal for the Homeplus Yeongdeungpo branch by the end of this month. The market believes that if the Yeongdeungpo branch deal is finalized, it will have a positive impact on negotiations to extend the maturity of the loan for the fund that holds four Homeplus stores.

Fund’s 580 billion won loan matures on the 5th of next month

According to the financial investment industry on the 22nd

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Aegis Asset Management is conducting negotiations with the goal of finalizing the sale of the Homeplus Yeongdeungpo branch by the end of this month. Currently, a consortium led by KB Securities has been selected as the preferred bidder for the site acquisition and development project.

The Homeplus Yeongdeungpo branch is a prime property located at 42 Dangsan-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul (55-3, Mullae-dong 3-ga). It is situated directly in front of Mullae Station on Subway Line 2, and it has been reported that a residential complex comprising approximately 500 units is planned for development in the area.

This transaction is drawing attention because it coincides with a 580 billion won loan set to mature on the 5th of next month. This loan was secured using four Homeplus stores—including the Yeongdeungpo branch, as well as the Geumcheon, Dongsuwon, and Busan Centum City branches—as collateral.

These assets are included in the “Aegis KORIF Private Real Estate Investment Trust No. 13,” managed by Aegis Asset Management. The fund has operated under a structure where it purchases the stores, leases them to Homeplus, and distributes dividends to investors using the rental income as a source of funds.

While the fund’s structure remains unchanged, the actual investors have changed. In 2022, investment consulting firm J-Mei Korea acquired these stores for approximately 940 billion won, resulting in a replacement of most of the beneficiaries.

Currently, the lending syndicate is reviewing whether to extend the loan maturity. Analysts suggest that if the sale of the Homeplus Yeongdeungpo store proceeds smoothly, the cash inflow will significantly increase the fund’s ability to repay the loan, thereby partially alleviating the burden on the financial sector.

In particular, with less than a month remaining until the loan maturity date, the financial sector has been able to breathe a sigh of relief after Homeplus—which had faced the threat of bankruptcy following the termination of its rehabilitation proceedings—managed to avert the crisis through an extension of those proceedings.

Yesterday, the 4th Reorganization Division of the Seoul Reorganization Court revoked its decision to terminate Homeplus’s reorganization proceedings and extended the period for approving the reorganization plan until September 4.

Target to close the sale of the Yeongdeungpo store by the end of this month

KB Kookmin Bank, the trustee for the fund, is responsible for the custody and management of the store. Kookmin Bank manages and leases the investment trust assets in accordance with the investment instructions of Aegis Asset Management.

Previously, KB Kookmin Bank raised a total of 580 billion won from a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a loan agreement signed in August 2022. The collateral assets are the Homeplus Yeongdeungpo, Geumcheon, Dongsuwon, and Centum City branches.

The loan amounts by tranche are: △Tranche A-1: 364 billion won; △Tranche A-2: 216 billion won. The security interests and priority of repayment are the same for both tranches. The loan was disbursed on August 5, 2022. Although it was originally due to mature last August, the lending syndicate decided to extend it by one year, pushing the maturity date to the 5th of next month.

The loan is structured as a bullet repayment at maturity, and early repayment is also permitted. The interest rate is a floating rate linked to the yield on 91-day negotiable certificates of deposit (CDs), with interest paid in advance every three months.

A total of 12 financial institutions participated in this loan. Given the structure of the loan—where a loss of the benefit of the term (EOD) occurs if even one institution refuses to agree to an extension—negotiations among the lending syndicate were not easy during last year’s loan extension process either.

Industry observers believe that whether the sale of the Yeongdeungpo branch is finalized and the pace of Homeplus’s restructuring will have a significant impact on the future value of the fund and the loan repayment schedule.

An official in the financial investment industry stated, “Even in the worst-case scenario where Homeplus goes bankrupt, it would not necessarily be solely negative for the fund,” adding, “There is a possibility that Aegis Asset Management could attract new tenants through eviction or pursue a change in real estate use for the stores (excluding the Yeongdeungpo branch).”