South Korean retail giant Lotte Group’s convenience store chain 7-Eleven is likely to be picked as a preferred bidder for the full acquisition of Ministop Korea, industry sources said Tuesday. 

According to industry insiders, Ministop Korea’s selloff manager, Nomura Securities, was to announce a preferred bidder later Tuesday. 

Along with Lotte, Shinsegae and Seoul-based Glenwood Private Equity submitted bid proposals last month. 7-Eleven suggested the highest bidding price of 430 billion won (380 million), moving a step closer to 100 percent acquisition of the fourth-largest convenience store chain here in terms of the number of outlets. 

Glenwood Private Equity suggested 400 billion won, while Shinsegae’s convenience store chain E-mart 24 suggested the lowest bid of 350 billion won, according to the industry. 

If 7-Eleven acquires Ministop, its number of stores would jump to some 12,000, largely bridging the gap with the industry’s No. 1 CU and No. 2 GS 25, which currently operate 13,100 stores and 13,000 stores, respectively. 

Industry insiders say that Lotte’s previous experience in acquiring convenience store chains, such as Lawson in 1999 and Buy the Way in 2010, will help it secure an advantageous position compared to other convenience store chain operators.

Currently, Japan’s Aeon Group holds a 76.7 percent share of Ministop Korea, while South Korean food group Daesang and Japan’s Mitsubishi own 20 percent and 3.94 percent stakes, respectively.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)