This article was published on July 8, 2025, at 3:59 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Affiliated with the KOSDAQ-listed company Quantumon, Daehan Jonggeon is pushing for the sale of its management rights. This comes about seven months after entering corporate rehabilitation due to deteriorating financial health. Daehan Jonggeon is under court protection due to contingent liabilities arising from difficulties in its operations caused by the real estate market slump and litigation related to resort construction projects.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 8th, Daehan Jonggeon has selected a domestic accounting firm as its sale manager and is working to attract external investment through methods such as a third-party allocation of new shares. This involves replacing the largest shareholder through a new share issuance.
The sellers have granted preliminary due diligence opportunities to prospective buyers who have submitted letters of intent (LOI). They plan to open the main bidding on the 22nd and receive binding offers. A strategic investor (SI) that previously negotiated the acquisition of Quantumon and Daehan Jonggeon is said to be a strong candidate. It’s likely that they will select the final acquirer through a stalking horse method after signing a conditional investment contract with the preferred bidder.
Daehan Jonggeon is a mid-sized construction company ranked within the top 100 in construction capability evaluations. Originally a subsidiary of SEUNG-IL, it underwent a change of hands in 2021, with its entire equity transferred to Quantumon in March 2023. Quantumon initiated the acquisition of Daehan Jonggeon to improve its performance. At that time, Quantumon stated, “We will accelerate performance improvement based on a solid subsidiary that generates robust results.” At the end of that year, Quantumon also pushed for the absorption merger of Daehan Jonggeon.
Before being acquired by Quantumon in 2022, Daehan Jonggeon recorded revenues of 195.1 billion won and a net profit of 2.8 billion won. It secured new projects worth 200 to 300 billion won annually based on supply prices and was active in the dwelling construction sector, including apartments and officetels. However, in 2023, the year Quantumon acquired it, Daehan Jonggeon recorded a net loss of 16 billion won, marking a shift to the red. As of the end of November last year, the disclosed business report showed that the net loss reached 71 billion won.
Ultimately, Daehan Jonggeon applied for corporate rehabilitation at the end of last year. According to the investigative report, Daehan Jonggeon's current assets amount to 2.7 billion won, while non-current assets stand at 14.2 billion won. In contrast, current liabilities reached 161.9 billion won, prompting the decision to choose mergers and acquisitions (M&A) before the approval of a rehabilitation plan. They aim to reduce some of their debt through the rehabilitation process and secure liquidity by finding a new owner. The money raised from issuing new shares will flow into the company to be used for debt repayment.
Quantumon, which owns 100% of Daehan Jonggeon’s equity, is expected to face inevitable losses. Typically, common shares of existing shareholders are canceled without consideration during the corporate rehabilitation process. This suggests that even if Daehan Jonggeon successfully sells its management rights, it likely won’t have any funds to secure. Currently, Quantumon has been notified of delisting by the Korea Exchange, but they have filed for a preliminary injunction to suspend the effects of the delisting decision, halting the liquidation trading.