LG H&H weighs Haitai HTB sale, rules out Coca-Cola bottling unit

LG Household & Health Care, the consumer goods unit under LG Group, is considering selling its beverage arm Haitai HTB to streamline operations, while denying that its Coca-Cola bottling business is part of the deal.

According to industry sources on Thursday, LG H&H has appointed KPMG Samjong Accounting as an adviser to oversee a broader business restructuring initiative, which includes the potential divestment of Haitai HTB.

Market insiders value the deal at around 250 billion won ($180 million), noting Haitai HTB’s production capacity and fruit-based brands as attractive to strategic investors.

“We are taking various options into account, but no specific decision has been made yet,” said a company official, adding that the move is more about structural reform than a straightforward asset sale.

“Coca-Cola has never been considered as part of the divestment plan."

LG H&H’s beverage segment includes subsidiaries such as Haitai HTB and its Coca-Cola bottling operations, which oversee the manufacturing and distribution of Coca-Cola products in Korea.

Haitai HTB, formerly Haitai Beverage, was fully acquired by LG H&H in 2010 from Asahi Breweries and five other shareholders. The company had earlier acquired Coca-Cola Korea Bottling Co. in 2007 from Coca-Cola Amatil.

Last year, the company’s drink division posted 1.82 trillion won in revenue, up 1 percent from a year earlier, while its operating profit declined 21.9 percent to 168.1 billion won. Haitai HTB reported 414 billion won in revenue and 3.6 billion won in operating profit, down 1.3 percent and 74 percent, respectively.

The company’s consolidated revenue peaked at over 8 trillion won in 2021, but fell to the 6 trillion won range last year, primarily due to a sluggish performance in its core cosmetics division.