Lotte Corporation to sell 26% stake in Lotte Capital

Lotte Corporation, the holding company of Korea’s retail-to-chemical conglomerate Lotte Group, said Monday it has decided to sell its nearly 26 percent stake in Lotte Capital to its Japan-based financial unit to meet regulatory requirements here.

Lotte Corporation said its 25.64 percent stake in Lotte Capital, worth 333.2 billion won ($279 million), will be sold to Lotte Financial in Japan.

Lotte Corporation said the move is part of its efforts to enhance its corporate governance structure by adopting a holding company structure.

Under Korean law, an industrial holding company is banned from holding a majority stake in a financial unit to prevent owners of family-run business conglomerates from exploiting a financial affiliate as their private coffers.

In May, Lotte Corporation signed a deal to sell its shares in Lotte Card and Lotte Insurance.

Yonhap