이 기사는 2021년 06월 22일 08:15 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

The last hurdle for JC Partners to acquire a troubled South Korean life insurance company is likely to clear in two months as the country’s financial watchdog begins regulatory review.

The Seoul-based private equity firm filed paperwork with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Thursday to kick off a process to examine whether it is eligible to become the largest shareholder of KDB Life Insurance, industry sources said.

The regulatory review comes six months after JC Partners signed a deal to buy some 92% of the insurance company from the state-controlled Korea Development Bank in December. The evaluation process is expected to take around 60 days to complete, with a final decision likely to be made in August.

JC Partners’ acquisition of KDB Insurance has been under preliminary review for the past few months, through which the private equity firm produced a final draft for review by the FSS.

JC Partners is said to have paid careful attention to the composition of limited partners to get approval from the financial authorities, which are stricter toward a private equity firm’s acquisition of a financial services company.

JC Partners has completed financing for the acquisition. 200 billion won ($176.4 million), which was raised from Woori Bank and KDB, will be paid to purchase shares from existing shareholders. The firm will also inject 150 billion won into the insurance company.

It has reportedly yet to be determined whether JC Partners will invest more money in KDB Life Insurance to boost its capital base. An additional capital injection is likely to be decided depending on how the company will fare under JC Partners’ ownership.

JC Partners, if it gets the green light from the FSS, will likely focus on improving the company’s capital adequacy level. KDB Life Insurance had a risk-based capital ratio of 187% at the end of March, far below the industry average of 273.2%. (Reporting by Ar-rum Rho)