Likely to Buy Old Shares With Domestic VCs
EQT Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) management company owned by Sweden’s Valendary family, will purchase part of the domestic fashion platform company Musinsa Koo.
According to related industries on the 14th, EQT Partners is in last-minute talks to buy a minority stake in Musinsa.
The scale is about 20 billion won, and it is a form of acquiring a stake held by domestic venture capital (VC) that participated in the initial investment of Musinsa. The investment was reportedly led by the Gross Investment Division within EQT Partners’ Hong Kong office.
Through this old stock deal, Musinsa is expected to be recognized for a higher corporate value. Earlier in 2023, Musinsa attracted 200 billion won worth of Series C investment from global PEF management company KKR and Wellington Management, one of the top three global asset management companies, and was recognized for its corporate value in the mid-3 trillion won range.
“It is true that EQT has been seeking to invest in Musinsa, but there are restrictions on issuing new shares due to existing investors,” an industry official said. “EQT, which is interested in Musinsa’s growth in the future, seems to be contacting existing shareholders and seeking to purchase some old shares.”
Musinsa recorded 1.2427 trillion won in sales, 102.8 billion won in operating profit, and 69.8 billion won in net profit on a consolidated basis last year.
Sales grew 25.1% year-on-year, with operating profit and net profit shifting from a deficit to a surplus. Last year was the first time that annual sales exceeded 1 trillion won. Separate sales of Musinsa, excluding related companies, also exceeded KRW 1 trillion for the first time in history.
The improvement in performance is expected to speed up the listing process.
Musinsa is said to be planning to distribute a bid proposal request (RFP) to major securities companies in the near future to select a listed company. Recently, the Financial Supervisory Service selected Anjin Accounting Corporation as an external auditor of Musinsa.
