[THE INVESTOR] Korean retail giant Hyundai Department Store Group on Sept. 18 announced that two of its units -- furniture division Hyundai Livart and B2B business unit Hyundai H&S -- will merge on Dec. 5.

The transaction will be in the form of Hyundai Livart acquiring Hyundai H&S at a ratio of 1:3.27. Sales of Hyundai Livart are expected to rise to 1.3 trillion won (US$1.15 billion) after the merger.

A formal decision on the merger will be made at a shareholders meeting on Nov.3.

Hyundai H&S, which has shown annual growth of around 18 percent sales since it split from Hyundai Green Food in 2009, has been retailing industrial and constructional resources to corporate bodies. In 2016, the company’s sales reached 530 billion won, while its operating profit stood at around 10 billion won.

Through the acquisition, Hyundai Livart plans to further strengthen its business as an interior decoration firm by securing stable resources from Hyundai H&S’ business channels.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)