Lotte Rental Finds New Owner as Lotte Group Sells Controlling Stake to US Private Equity Firm TPG

Lotte Group has found a buyer for Lotte Rental, the country's top car rental operator, agreeing to sell a controlling stake to US private equity firm TPG in a deal valued at roughly 1.31 trillion won (about $925 million). According to industry sources on Monday, Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel will together offload their combined 61.17% holding in Lotte Rental, with Hotel Lotte handing over a 38.14% stake and Busan Lotte Hotel selling its 23.03% stake, at 59,000 won per share.

TPG is expected to fund the acquisition entirely through its own capital, without relying on external debt financing, according to industry sources. The deal caps a lengthy and at times bumpy sale process. Private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners had initially agreed to buy Lotte Rental last year, but South Korea's Fair Trade Commission blocked the deal in January over monopoly concerns in the domestic rental car market. Hankook & Company, the tire-to-mobility conglomerate, later emerged as another suitor before TPG ultimately secured the winning bid.

Lotte Rental traces its roots to 1989, when it launched as Kumho Rentacar under the Kumho Asiana Group. Ownership passed to KT Corporation in 2010 before Lotte Group acquired the business in 2015, building it into the country's dominant rental car brand. The company was put back on the block as Lotte pursues a sweeping reshuffle of its business portfolio.

Market analysts see the TPG deal as a potential catalyst for a re-rating of Lotte Rental's enterprise value. Daishin Securities analyst Park Kang-ho noted that investor interest has picked up since TPG entered the race, citing optimism around the fund's mobility expertise, the company's stable earnings profile, and its previously undervalued share price. Park pointed out that TPG is also the second-largest shareholder in Kakao Mobility and was an early-stage investor in Uber, positioning it to help Lotte Rental expand into future mobility platforms.

For Lotte Group, the sale eases financial pressure on Hotel Lotte, which has been carrying heavy investment burdens tied to Lotte Construction and Lotte Biologics. Lotte Corporation told investors at a May briefing that it intended to move quickly on the Lotte Rental sale alongside a restructuring of Lotte Chemical's Daesan and Yeosu plants, part of an aggressive push to trim low-efficiency businesses across the conglomerate.

The proceeds are expected to help fund Chairman Shin Dong-bin's strategic pivot toward biotechnology and chemicals, as well as a broader 'New Lotte' push emphasizing technology and intellectual property over legacy retail and mobility assets. The divestiture underscores how the group is reshaping its portfolio to free up capital for these growth priorities while shedding non-core businesses.