이 기사는 2021년 08월 12일 08시05분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Ties between GS Group and IMM investment continue as the two have joined forces to acquire a controlling stake in botox maker Hugel.

The South Korean conglomerate has teamed up with Seoul-based private equity firm IMM Investment to jointly bid for Bain Capital-owned Hugel, according to industry sources. The move contrasts with other large strategic investors, including Shinsegae Group, which decided to pull out from the auction process, making the conglomerate the strongest candidate to win the race.

IMM Investment previously invested in deals involving GS’s affiliates as counterparties.

In 2018, GS Group explored a sale of its system integration arm GS ITM in order to avoid regulatory scrutiny by the country’s competition watchdog regarding intercompany transactions. IMM Investment approached the conglomerate and struck a deal in December of that year to acquire a majority stake in the company in partnership with JKL Partners.

The deal, worth 100 billion won ($86.7 million), included a combined 80% stake sale in GS ITM by members of GS’s founding Huh family. IMM Investment and JKL Partners each funded 50% of the acquisition cost through their funds, with no debt financing.

Byun Jae-chul, president and chief investment officer of IMM Investment, has been in GS ITM’s chief executive officer role since January 2020. A specialist in mezzanine investing, Byun previously led investments in gaming company Krafton, ecommerce company WeMakePrice and Lotte Non-Life Insurance.

GS ITM provides system integration services, with most of its customers being GS affiliates, such as GS Retail, GS Caltex and GS Engineering & Construction. The company reported an operating profit of 5 billion won on revenue of 200.3 billion won last year.

Members of the Huh family still hold part of the remaining stake in GS ITM at the end of 2020, probably because a significant portion of the company’s revenue is generated from GS affiliates.

IMM Investment last month also agreed to acquire 50% of GS Power, a subsidiary of the conglomerate’s energy arm GS Energy, for about 1 trillion won. GS Energy retains the remaining 50% stake and control of the company. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)