이 기사는 2021년 08월 17일 08:03 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Hopes are rising in the private equity (PE) and debt financing industries as SK Group’s major affiliates seek to raise multi-trillion won in investments. At least 1.5 trillion won ($1.28 billion) worth of debt financing is expected to be injected to SK E&S and SK Global Chemical.

SK E&S and SK Global Chemical, which are seeking to raise funds, will shortlist their bidders, industry sources said on Thursday. Credit Suisse and BoA Merrill Lynch are handling SK E&S’ sale of new preferred shares while JP Morgan is managing a sale of a 49% stake in SK Global Chemical.

“As candidates to acquire stakes in SK E&S and SK Global Chemical are major PE firms and the two deals are seen as stable infrastructure investments, the bidders are highly likely to have reached an agreement with limited partners prior to joining the deal,” said an industry source.

KKR, Glenwood Private Equity, EMP Belstar, and IMM Private Equity are among PE firms that have shown interest in a sale of 2 trillion won ($1.9 billion) worth of new preferred shares in SK E&S, South Korea's largest city gas supplier. STIC Investments, Glenwood PE, and IMM Investment have participated in the deal to acquire a minority stake in SK Global Chemical. A 49% stake in SK Global Chemical is estimated at between 1 trillion won and 1.5 trillion won.

Considering that the maximum amount that can be drawn from a single fund is about 20-30% of the total investment due to the deal structure, at least 1.5 trillion won of funds will be injected through the acquisition financing. A selected PE firm is highly likely to fund 50% of the acquisition cost through its fund, with the rest funded through debt financing.

KKR is managing the largest blind-pool fund among bidders that participated in the SK E&S deal. The PE Firm closed its fourth KKR Asia Fund at around 4.29 trillion won earlier this year.

IMM PE is expected to fund the acquisition cost through its RoseGold IV. The PE firm’s blind-pool fund closed at 1.9 trillion won and has used about 50% of its committed capital so far. Its unspent capital is estimated at around 400 billion won after its acquisitions of Pet Friends and Hanssem are completed.

STIC Investments is expected to use its Special Situation Fund II for the SK Global Chemical deal. The fund, which closed at 1.2 trillion won in August 2019, has deployed about 50% of committed capital with its investments in parking lot operator Hi Parking and Iljin Materials’ subsidiary in Malaysia, Juvis Diet, and ride-hailing platform Grab. Its unspent capital is estimated to be worth around 660 billion won.

Glenwood PE has showed its intention to participate in both SK E&S and SK Global Chemical deals. The PE firm is seeking an opportunity to use its second blind-pool fund, which recently closed at around 900 billion won. Glenwood PE is reportedly very keen to buy the shares as it requested about five brokerage firms which provide debt financing, including NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, and Korea Investment & Securities, to submit investment proposals.

IMM Investment is expected to use its blind-pool fund Petra 8, which closed at about 860 billion won in January. The fund has spent about 19% of its committed capital on investments in Musinsa and Helinox, with about 700 billion won remaining unspent. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)