E-Land chairman Park Sung-su has moved aggressively in recent years to expand the business portfolio of the nation’s leading fashion retailer.

Following purchases of luxury resorts and foreign fashion brands, he now aims to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, which declared bankruptcy last year.

An E-Land official confirmed Tuesday that the company has joined a consortium to acquire the baseball club and made last Friday’s first cut.

“The Dodgers are not just a baseball team, but a symbol of Los Angeles. If we succeed in acquiring the club, the company would have more opportunities to introduce our fashion and leisure businesses to the world,” Hwang Woo-il, an E-Land spokesperson, told The Korea Herald.

“We also expect that the purchase would be helpful to the growth of Korean baseball by linking the Major Leagues and Asian baseball.”

A Los Angeles Times report said Monday that former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley is participating in the bid to buy back the Dodgers and E-Land is one of the major investors.

Former Dodgers pitcher Park Chan-ho is also said to be involved in arranging the talks between O’Malley and E-Land, according to local sources. Under O’Malley, Park joined the Dodgers in 1994 and became the first Korean player to appear in a major league game.

Industry sources say the E-Land investment could be hovering at 150-200 billion won ($13-17 million). The Dodgers bidding is now worth of $1.2-1.5 billion.

The E-Land official, however, declined to confirm the amount of investment as well as the O’Malley partnership.

Some 10 ownership groups, including hedge fund head Steven Cohen, former Dodgers and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre and NBA legend Magic Johnson, are also believed to have advanced to the second round of bidding on Friday.

If E-Land wins the bid, it would be the first Korean and second Asian company to own a major league team. In 1992, Nintendo, a Japanese game maker, acquired the Seattle Mariners in 1992.

Despite the presence of powerful competitors, E-Land is also expected to be backed by ardent supporters from the world’s largest Koreatown in Los Angeles.

Industry sources questioned, however, the cash flow of E-Land as it has poured large amounts into a series of M&As recently.

The group acquired Highla Condo in 2006 and Corea Condo in 2009, becoming Korea’s No. 3 player in the leisure business. It also took over a theme park in Daegu and a company that operates boats on the Han River.

In the fashion business, E-Land has acquired a number of fashion brands, including Italy’s Mandarina Duck, Belfe, Peter Scott and Larjo.

The group, however, rejected such concerns, citing its robust growth in the apparel and retail businesses especially in the soaring Chinese market.

Amid a global economic slowdown, the group logged 8.69 trillion won in sales, a 17 percent increase from 2011 and it aims to exceed the 10 trillion won mark this year.

In China, the group said it has grown almost 30 percent every year, with the 2011 sales reaching 1.6 trillion won.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)