Private Equity Korea

GS Global Buys 20 Percent Stake in Nemaha Oil Fields

Ross Geesman — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:17:36 +0000

GS Global, following in the wake of many other Korean firms, has signed an agreement to acquire overseas oil assets through the purchase of a 20 percent stake in Oklahoma’s Nemaha oil fields. GS signed an agreement on Friday May 4 with Longfellow Nemaha LLC, a subsidiary of US-based Longfellow Energy in what is to become GS Global’s first overseas development project.

Under the agreement, GS will acquire a 20 percent stake in the oil field and will invest $460 million in it over the next 9 years. The acquisition is to be financed by loans provided by the Korean government. The addition of GS Global’s stake will bring the portion of the Nemaha fields owned by Korean firms up to 40 percent. According to the article, GS has further plans to expand overseas through more acquisitions of fossil fuel resources.

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Sajo Industries to Sell Stake in Sajo Seafood

Ross Geesman — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:24:17 +0000

Sajo Industries announced on May 7 that it plans to sell off a 13.9 percent, 1,800,000 share stake in its subsidiary, Sajo Seafood. The company explained that it us selling the stake as part of Sajo Seafood’s planned IPO.

After disposing of the stake, Sajo Industries will be left with 11,190,000 shares, an 86 percent stake in Sajo Seafood. Sajo Industries will refrain from selling any of its remaining shares for a period of 6 months after the IPO. Sajo Industries has said it plans on using the capital raised from the sale to improve its financial structure.

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Samsung Finishing Talks to Acquire Mspot

Ross Geesman — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:35:32 +0000

According to a report by MK Business News, Samsung has almost completed discussions to acquire US-based software company, Mspot. The 10 billion won deal was a year in the making and is Samsung’s first acquisition of a software company. The MK article quotes unidentified sources stating that the deal will be finalized by the end of the month.

MSpot specializes in cloud hosting services for multimedia content and will allow Samsung to compete with Apple’s iCloud and Amazon’s Cloud Drive. The acquisition seems to be in line with Samsung’s strategy to differentiate itself from Apple and other Android handset manufacturers by improving its software offerings.

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Norwegian Pension Fund Considering Korean Investments?

Ross Geesman — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:28 +0000

As a part of a decision to increase exposure to Asian investments, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is considering allocating $400 million to local fund managers. According to industry sources cited by MK Business News, the fund has approached three to four local asset managers and consulting firms. The article states that the the GPFG is expected to allocate $100 million to each fund manager, for a total of $400 million to be invested domestically.

The GPFG is the world’s second largest sovereign wealth fund, at $610 billion AUM. Currently Asian investments make up only 15 percent of the fund’s assets under management. According to the article, the fund has plans to shift its exposure away from Europe and upping assets allocated to Asia.

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UPDATE: Nexon and EA Discussing Game Distribution, Not Buyout

Ross Geesman — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:25:05 +0000

According to Bloomberg, rumors that Korean online gaming company Nexon Co. was in talks to purchase Electronics Arts, America’s second-largest U.S. video-game publisher are just that, rumors. Sources cited by Bloomberg state that rather than discussing a potential acquisition, the two gaming giants are actually talking over a potential deal in which Nexon would distribute a new version of EA’s FIFA Online title in Asia. FIFA Online has been distributed by Korean online game publisher Neowiz Games since 2006.

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AXA Group to Purchase ERGO’s Korean Subsidiary

Ross Geesman — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:41:09 +0000

According to a company press release, the French insurance conglomerate, AXA Group will purchase ERGO Insurance Group’s Korean subsidiary, ERGO Daum Direct. Officials representing both sides completed and signed an agreement on May 3.

ERGO Daum Direct is a non-life insurer which concentrates on the automotive insurance sector, where it holds 7 percent of the domestic direct auto insurance market. The buyer AXA, currently has a 15 percent market share in this market. The sale comes at a time when Korean insurers are facing tough market conditions which are prompting a push abroad.

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E-Land Loses to Wolverine in CBI Bidding

Ross Geesman — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:08:41 +0000

According to PE Hub, Korean apparel company E-Land has lost out to a team made up of Wolverine World Wide, Golden Gate Capital, and Blum Capital Partners in the bidding for Collective Brands Inc. (CBI). The Wolverine led consortium won with a bid of $21.75 a share or $2 billion.

Under the deal, Wolverine will gain the Sperry Top-Sider, Stride Rite, and Keds brands and as well as Collective’s chain of retail stores, Payless. Wolverine presently owns the Merrell and Hush Puppies brands.

E-Land had planned on making the CBI acquisition to further its expansion into the footwear market. The company has recently opened its first footwear multishop under the Folder name, and has plans to open another 100 locations by 2015.

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Startup Battle Korea 2012

Ross Geesman — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:23:47 +0000

KOTRA, in collaboration with Seoul Space, are holding an exciting new event to help support Korean IT and entertainment content startups with hopes of global expansion. The event, Startup Battle Korea 2012, is to be held on June 14 at Seoul’s Coex Intercontinental Hotel. Startup Battle Korea will feature 10 start ups presenting in English in front of a panel of international judges including:

Benson Lee Filmmaker Sony Pictures Entertainment

John Lagerling Director, Android Global Partnerships at Google

Troy Malone Evernote General Manager, Asia Pacific

David Lee Co-Founder, Seoul Space / Co-Founding Partner, XG Ventures / Venture Partner, SK Telecom Ventures

Jay Henningsen Director, Emerging Business Team, Microsoft

Janice Fraser CEO/Principal, LUXr

Arne Roomann-Kurrik Developer Advocate, Twitter

Winners will receive cash prizes of up to 10 million won as well as opportunities to participate in KOTRA programs supporting IT companies, including placement in KOTRA’s overseas IT Support Centers, and recommendation for investment by Korea’s Global Win-Win Fund.

To find out more, visit the Startup Battle Korea homepage (Korean) or contact startupbattlekorea@seoulspace.co.kr

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Hi-Mart Resumes Trading, Will Proceed With Stake Sale

Ross Geesman — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:33:58 +0000

Korean electronics retailer Hi-Mart has escaped de-listing from the Korea Exchange (KRX). According to Reuters, the KRX has ordered Hi-Mart to complete a planned stake sales and make changes to improve corporate governance. The KRX will restart trading of the firms shares from the May 2. This move comes after trading of Hi-Mart shares was suspended April 16 after its top executives became embroiled in an embezzlement scandal.

Two Hi-Mart executives, former CEO Sun Jong-koo and vice president Kim Hyo-ju, have been charged with embezzling 259 billion won from the company. The embezzlement scandal, came as top shareholders including Sun, Eugene Group, and private equity firm H&Q were preparing to sell a combined 57.6 percent stake in the company.

The KRX has announced that Hi-Mart has promised to appoint a new chief executive in charge of operations. Eugene Group chairman Yu Kyung-sun, who also serves as an executive in charge of finance for Hi-Mart, will also resign after selling his stake and will be replaced by the end of June even if the stake sale cannot be completed.

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Government to Restart Woori Sale

Ross Geesman — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:18:36 +0000

Government holdings company Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation has set a July 27 deadline for preliminary bids in the sale of its 56.97 percent stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co. This announcement signals the beginning of the Korean government’s third attempt at selling Woori since 2010.

According to this Bloomberg report, buyers are required to bid on a minimum 30 percent stake in the company, valued at 2.9 trillion won as of April 27. The report quotes Kim Yongbeom of the Public Funds Oversight Committee saying that he expects a bidder to be selected in October.

Woori was created as a banking and financial holdings company in 2001 from financial institutions taken over in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The government made its first attempt to sell the stake in 2010, and most recently called off the sale in August after getting only one bid from local private-equity firm MBK Partners.

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