This article was published on April 14, 2025, at 4:03 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
London Bagel Museum, a bakery company that has been pushing for a change in management rights since last year, is currently in negotiations with private equity firm JKL Partners. No other potential buyers have been identified.
The London Bagel Museum is hoping for a corporate valuation of 300 billion won, which industry insiders believe is a high level compared to last year's performance. Consequently, the London Bagel Museum is said to be seeking to 'increase its value' based on sales from the The Hyundai Seoul store in Yeouido, which started at the end of last year.
According to the investment banking industry on the 14th, LBM, the operator of the London Bagel Museum, has contacted multiple potential buyers since last year for a sale of management rights and is currently negotiating with JKL Partners over the corporate valuation. (Related article☞[Exclusive] JKL Partners seeks to acquire London Bagel Museum) However, the company has officially stated that 'it is not selling management rights but rather seeking investment.'
The London Bagel Museum's desired corporate valuation is said to be around 300 billion won, which is the price it has insisted on since last year. The sale target reportedly includes all shares held by Director Lee Sang-yeop (46%), Director Kim Dong-jun (29%), Chief Brand Officer Lee Hyo-jung (15%), and current CEO Kang Kwan-goo (10%).
The market has viewed the London Bagel Museum's desired corporate valuation skeptically. This is because the value could only be recognized if a multiple of over 20 times the 2023 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 13.9 billion won is applied.
As last year's performance significantly improved, the multiple needed to recognize the desired corporate valuation has substantially decreased. Last year, the London Bagel Museum's EBITDA was 26 billion won, nearly doubling compared to the previous year. Applying a multiple of 11.5 would mean it could be recognized at 300 billion won.
Nonetheless, the market still raises questions about the figure of 300 billion won. It must be considered that the average multiple for the food and beverage (F&B) industry has dropped to 6-7 times. If a multiple of 7 times is applied to the London Bagel Museum's last year's EBITDA, the corporate valuation would only reach 182 billion won, which is far from what the sellers are aiming for.
In response, the management of the London Bagel Museum is expected to argue that sales from the The Hyundai store should be reflected to increase its valuation. The London Bagel Museum entered The Hyundai in Yeouido at the end of November last year and is reportedly experiencing ongoing purchase queues. Although sales figures for The Hyundai have not been disclosed, it is estimated that their sales would exceed that of the Lotte Department Store in Jamsil, which is about 1.5 billion won per month.
An investment banking industry insider said, 'If the monthly sales at The Hyundai are around 1.5 billion won, then annualizing that would mean an increase in sales of 1.8 billion won,' adding that 'the London Bagel Museum could use this hypothetical situation to lower its multiple, which would also alleviate the burden for potential buyers.'