Aekyung Industrial has conducted a preliminary bidding process for the sale of its management rights, with multiple strategic investors (SIs) and financial investors (FIs) participating, indicating a certain level of success in attracting interest.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 19th, Samjong KPMG, the lead manager for the sale of Aekyung Industrial, conducted the preliminary bidding by this date and received letters of intent (LOIs).
Fewer than 10 SIs and FIs are reported to have submitted bids for this auction. An IB industry insider noted, "I understand that about half are SIs and half are private equity (PE) firms, but it seems that there are strong SIs backing the PEs that are participating in the bidding."
The market views that the acquisition process for Aekyung Industrial will likely be dominated by large corporations. In fact, it is reported that most of the SIs participating in this bidding are large or mid-sized companies.
Among the large corporations mentioned earlier in the market as potential acquirers are Hoban Group and Dongwon Group. However, both companies have stated that they will not participate in the acquisition process.
Samjong KPMG is expected to narrow down candidates from the prospective buyers who submitted LOIs by this date and conduct the main bidding soon. The sale price for the 63.38% stake that Aekyung Group hopes to sell is around 600 billion won. The current market capitalization is approximately 400 billion won.