South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group is moving forward on plans to issue an initial public offering for Hotel Lotte, its hotel operator affiliate.
Lotte will confirm short-listed candidates to manage the listing process on Aug. 31 from a pool of local and overseas brokerages that received proposals this month.
Lotte is the fifth largest conglomerate in South Korea and is best known for its retail arm. The move to list the hotel arm was announced on Aug. 19 but speculation had been building for more than a week that an announcement was imminent.
The company submitted a document to the South Korean government and chairman Shin Dong-bin said a listing would happen as quickly as possible.
The proposed IPO is happening as the group is hurt by a feud between founder Shin Kyuk-ho and his two sons Dong-joo and Dong-bin. Reports suggest Lotte is planning to list other affiliates, including convenience store chain 7-eleven and Lotteria, a fast food chain.
Lotte Group announced the potential listing in text messages to reporters without elaborating when the listing will be completed.
The parent company said it expected Hotel Lotte to have a market capitalization of around US$8.43 billion after a listing.
