Korean Fashion Brand Basic House Mulls Sale of China Unit

(Bloomberg) -- TBH Global Co., the South Korean clothing retailer whose brands include Basic House, is considering a sale of its Chinese business that could raise about $200 million, according to people familiar with the matter. TBH Global shares jumped the most in more than 13 years.

The company has held talks with potential advisers about the sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The business could draw interest from other apparel companies as well as private equity firms, one of the people said.

TBH Global is exploring various ways to raise funds to repay debt and the sale is one of the options for consideration, a representative for the company said in response to Bloomberg queries. The company’s creditors include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. A representative for Goldman declined to comment.

Deliberations about a potential sale are at an early stage, and no final decisions have been made, according to the people.

Shares of TBH Global were 26% higher at Friday close, after rising as much as 30% in its biggest gain since December 2005. The Kospi Index was down 0.3%.

TBH Global also has other brands including Jucy Judy and Mind Bridge. The South Korean firm opened its first Basic House store in Shanghai in 2004 and has a nationwide distribution network through major department stores in China, according to its website.

--With assistance from Kyungji Cho, Jung Soo Maeng and Teo Chian Wei.

To contact the reporters on this story: Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong at vchan91@bloomberg.net;Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Ben Scent

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