[Market Now] Lotte sells Eunpyeong commercial building to KEB Hana fund

Lotte Shopping said Tuesday it will sell its commercial building in Eunpyeong New Town, Seoul, to a real estate trust fund of KEB Hana Bank by the end of this month.

Hana’s fund will purchase the property for 430 billion won ($380 million), according to a disclosure filing by Eunpyeong PFV Corp.

Lotte Shopping’s Lotte Asset Development, a real estate developer of Lotte Group, set up the special purpose company -- Eunpyeong PFV Corp. -- to develop the commercial building with partial funds provided by the state-run Korea Development Bank in 2014. Lotte Shopping, a retail operator of Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart, has a 39 percent stake in Lotte Asset Development.

Lotte Shopping’s Eunpyeong PFV said that the purpose of the sale to Hana was to retrieve its investment in the property as a means to cash in on its noncurrent asset.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)