[Courtesy of Bobath Memorial Hospital]
South Korea's Lotte Group said Wednesday that it has been selected as the preferred bidder to buy a renowned medical care hospital using the name of a British couple who devoted their life for patients.
If Lotte's bid is successful, it would help the group diversify its business portfolio into the medical business. Hotel Lotte, a key group unit, proposed the highest price among four candidates.
Hotel Lotte said the proposed acquisition of Seoul-based Bobath Memorial Hospital, a specialized medical center focusing on neurological disorders and chronic medical diseases, is part of efforts to increase its social contribution.
Bobath opened in 2002 when South Korea's Nuelproon Medical Foundation was allowed to use the hospital name from Britain's Bobath Foundation. It was placed under a workout program in September 2015 due to growing liabilities.
The hospital with 550 sickbeds is famous for expertise in senior care and rehabilitation through its neurorehabilitation, neurological disease, and lifestyle-related disease centers. Neulproon runs a separate hospital for the rehabilitation of children
with developmental disorder and cerebral palsy.
Markets watchers predicted the price would stand at around 100 billion won (88 million US dollars), describing Bobath as an attractive entity for those trying to take the upper hand in South Korea's silver industry which has been growing due to a rapidly aging society.
It was Lotte's first aggressive business activity since group chairman Shin Dong-bin, 61, was released from detention by prosecutors on September 29 after a court refused to issue an arrest warrant.
The court's decision eased concern about a managerial vacuum caused by an extensive probe into alleged tax evasion, embezzlement and other irregularities by the group's ruling family and executives.
On Wednesday, prosecutors indicted the group's ailing founder and two sons so that they will be put on trial, but they would have no problem in their daily business activities.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
