According to investment banking sources on July 29, BGF Retail, the franchiser responsible for the convenience store chain and a Bokwang Group company, has recently sent out requests for proposal to major securities houses as part of its bid to select underwriters for the deal.

 

Currently the largest shareholder in BGF Retail is Hong Seok-jo, the chairman of Bokwang Group, who holds a 34.93-percent stake. The second-largest shareholder is FamilyMart with a 25-percent stake. Once FamilyMart sells off all its holdings, CU will be reborn as a 100-percent Korean company after 23 years of Korean-Japanese partnership since the launch of the first store (in Garak-dong, Seoul) in 1990.

 

Last year, BGF Retail posted a sales revenue of 2,857.1 billion won and an operating profit of 42.3 billion won. Given the price-earnings-ratio of GS Retail, a comparable company within the same industry, is 21, the market cap of BGF Retail after an IPO would be to the tune of 900 billion to 1 trillion won.