TPG to acquire Lotte Rental for W1.31tr

Lotte announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to sell a controlling stake in Lotte Rental to global investment firm TPG.

The stake totals 61.2% — comprising 38.1% held by Hotel Lotte and 23.0% held by Busan Lotte Hotel. The transaction is priced at 59,000 won ($42) per share, for a total of 1.31 trillion won.

Lotte had been in talks with multiple potential buyers after its earlier deal with Affinity Equity Partners fell through in May.

Lotte selected TPG as the final buyer after reviewing a range of factors, including the proposed enterprise value, acquisition structure, employment guarantees, speed of deal closure, financing capacity and other contractual terms. The transaction is expected to close following approval from the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

Lotte said it plans to use the proceeds to strengthen the financial health of Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel, while channeling funds into its core hotel business expansion — with the aim of improving profitability, operational efficiency and global competitiveness.

"We selected the buyer for Lotte Rental after comprehensively considering market conditions and the company's medium- to long-term growth strategy," a Lotte official said. "We plan to focus further on strengthening the core competitiveness of our key businesses and upgrading our business portfolio."

Lotte Group had previously attempted to sell Lotte Rental to global private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners last year, but the deal collapsed after the Korea Fair Trade Commission declined to approve the acquisition, citing concerns over reduced competition given that Affinity already owned SK Rent-a-Car.