이 기사는 2020년 02월 03일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Potential buyers of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Korea which has been put up for sale by its parent company Prudential Financial kicked off their due diligence. Considering preliminary due diligence normally takes around four to five weeks, the final bid is likely to be held in March.

According to M&A industry sources on January 29, U.S.-based Prudential Financial and its lead sale manager Goldman Sachs created a virtual data room (VDR) for potential buyers. Shortlisted bidders are said to have started their preliminary due diligence.

The sell-side held the preliminary bidding on January 16 and received non-binding takeover offers from potential buyers. Later, the seller-side announced a shortlist of contenders, including KB Financial Group, MBK Partners, Hahn & Company and IMM Private Equity (PE).

The shortlisted candidates will decide whether to participate in the final bid while carrying out due diligence using the VDR and management presentation process. While KB Financial Group is regarded as the strongest potential buyer of the life insurer, market watchers are paying attention to whether Woori Financial Group will form a consortium to take part in the final tender.

KB Financial Group is expected to evaluate the life insurer’s management quality, asset, and financial soundness to decide the participation in the final bid. KB Financial Group’s subsidiary KB Life Insurance is likely to be helpful in conducting the due diligence.

South Korea’s PE firm MBK Partners has proved its management skills and capital strength through its successful investment in Orange Life (formerly ING Life Insurance). After exiting Orange Life, the PE firm joined hands with Woori Bank to acquire Lotte Card. MBK Partners can’t takeover a life insurance company until September of 2020 as it accepted the non-compete clause when selling ING Life to Shinhan Financial Group in September of 2018. However, depending on the timing of the deal closing, the PE firm still can acquire the life insurer.

Hahn & Co. was selected as a preferred bidder for Lotte Card, although it was forced to walk away from the transaction. The PE firm has ample dry powder as it raised 3.8 trillion won for its blind-pool fund at the end of 2019.

IMM PE has aggressively invested in financial institutions, including Kyobo Life Insurance, Shinhan Financial Group and K bank. The firm has set up its in-house investment and management team specialized for the financial services industry. The firm might form a consortium with strategic investors such as Woori Financial Group to participate in the bid.

(By reporter Kim Hye-ran)