The National Pension Service noted that even if the 29.5 billion won invested in Homeplus is a total loss, the revenue through the MBK Fund No. 3 is estimated to be more than double.

National Pension Service Fund Management Headquarters. /Courtesy of News1

According to investment banks (IB) on the 19th, the National Pension Service contributed 130 billion won to the ‘MBK No. 3 Blind Fund’ established in 2013, of which 29.5 billion won was invested in Homeplus common stock.

As Homeplus entered the rehabilitation process and MBK Partners announced that a ‘pre-rehabilitation merger and acquisition’ would take place, the recovery of the investment funds became impossible, stating that it would conduct a free shrinkage of 2.5 trillion won worth of common stock. Of the 2.5 trillion won worth of Homeplus common stock subject to free shrinkage, the amount invested from the MBK Fund No. 3 is 500 billion won, which includes the 29.5 billion won from the National Pension Service.

In response, Han Chang-min, an official of The Social Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Policy Committee, pointed out the possibility of losses and noted that regulations would be imposed on the National Pension Service's investments in private equity funds.

However, even if the National Pension Service fully accounts for the Homeplus investment as a loss, the investment in MBK Partners’ No. 3 Blind Fund is expected to record a revenue rate of more than 2.2 times. Out of the 130 billion won, 100 billion won excluding the Homeplus investment was invested in seven corporations, including Orange Life (now Shinhan Life), Doosan Machine Tools (now DN Solutions), and Apex Logistics, due to the excellent revenue rate that allowed for the recovery of the investment funds.