Lotte signals US$4.5 billion hotel IPO will be shelved amid crisis

Seoul

LOTTE Group indicated it will shelve what may have been a US$4.5 billion initial public offering (IPO), the world's biggest so far this year, for its hotel unit after widening investigations pushed the South Korean conglomerate deeper into crisis.

It's going to be "physically difficult" for Hotel Lotte Co to meet next month's deadline to complete the IPO in light of the extra steps it would need to take such as making additional disclosures, the parent group said in Seoul on Sunday. Lotte will cooperate with the authorities in their investigation, it said.