[Edaily Marketin Reporter Hur Jieun ] Global private equity fund (PEF) manager Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is acquiring LOTTE rental(089860).

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 11th, Hotel Lotte held a board meeting that afternoon and signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with TPG for the sale of LOTTE rental. The sale covers the 61.18% stake in LOTTE rental held by Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel. The sale price is reported to be in the 1.3 trillion won range. Based on a 100% stake, the company’s enterprise value was assessed at around 2 trillion won.

LOTTE rental traces its origins to Kumho Rent-a-Car, a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group established in 1989. In 2010, KTCorporation acquired the company for 300 billion won and merged it into KTCorporation Rental; in 2015, the Lotte Group acquired it for 1.02 trillion won, making it a Lotte affiliate. In 2024, Affinity Equity Partners—a private equity firm that owns SK Rent-a-Car—was selected as the preferred bidder for LOTTE rental, but the deal ultimately fell through after failing to pass the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s merger review.

It is reported that TPG seized the opportunity by contacting the seller, Lotte Group, after Affinity ran into difficulties during the Fair Trade Commission’s review process. It is understood that TPG has been conducting behind-the-scenes negotiations since the termination of the share sale agreement between Lotte Group and Affinity was officially announced in May of this year.

TPG plans to complete the acquisition of LOTTE rental within the year following the merger review. Given that Affinity’s attempt to acquire LOTTE rental—the market leader—failed while it already owned SK Rent-a-Car, the second-largest player in the domestic market, analysts predict that TPG’s acquisition of LOTTE rental will proceed smoothly.

The deal was led by TPG Deputy CEO Yoon Shinwon. Deloitte Anjin served as TPG’s acquisition advisor, while law firms Gwangjang and Sejong provided legal and antitrust advisory services, respectively. On the Lotte side, UBS (sale advisor) and Hwawoo (legal advisor) contributed to the transaction.