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Lotte Chief Pursues Hotel Lotte IPO to Gain Leverage

Japan's Lotte Holdings now owns 99 percent of Hotel Lotte

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is expected to accelerate the initial public offering (IPO) of Hotel Lotte to tighten his grip on the remaining South Korean control on Lotte Hotel.

The Hotel Lotte IPO will boost liquidity for the Lotte Group and water down Japanese control on the hotel, which is now over 99 percent owned by Japan's Lotte Holdings.

In April, the Chairman's elder brother SDJ Corp. chairman Shin Dong-ju sought to remove him from the board of Lotte Holdings, marking his sixth such attempt.

Other than the Hotel Lotte IPO plan, Shin Dong-bin could also adopt an e-commerce strategy, securitization of its real estate assets, and shareholder-friendly policies to cement his power over Lotte Corp.

However, there are factors that may hinder the IPO, including the plummeting demand in the hotel's duty-free shop business, a main revenue source, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

KB Securities analyst Jeong Dong-ik noted that with Hotel Lotte yet to undergo a listing eligibility review at the Korea Exchange, its performance and investor sentiment in the IPO market could hamper its listing this year.

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