이 기사는 2021년 11월 14일 16:16 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

A tug of war is about to begin between TmaxSoft and potential buyers over the company’s value after four bidders have advanced to the final round of bidding for a controlling stake in the software company.

Among the shortlisted bidders for the South Korean company are cloud managed service provider Bespin Global and private equity firms MBK Partners, SkyLake Equity Partners and Macquarie Korea Asset Management.

They will conduct due diligence over the coming weeks, with sale adviser Samjong KPMG expected to receive final offers before the end of this year.

Bidders have been shortlisted only about two months after the company was officially put up for sale in September. TmaxSoft is said to be seeking a valuation of 1 trillion won ($848 million).

TmaxSoft recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 38.5 billion won on revenue of 100.8 billion won in 2020. The 1 trillion won enterprise value (EV) would be equivalent to an EV/EBITDA multiple of nearly 26 times.

TmaxSoft’s first-half EBITDA was 11 billion won. Given assumed EBITDA of about 45 billion won for the full 2021 year – after considering that the company tended to produce substantially more EBTIDA in the second half in prior years – the 1 trillion won valuation would represent a 22 times forward EV/EBITDA multiple.

Potential buyers have reportedly put the company’s value at between 600 billion won and 800 billion won, according to sources. This represents an EV/EBITDA multiple of 14-18 times based on an EBITDA assumption of 45 billion won for this year, which is still considered expensive compared to the average for other comparable deals.

TmaxSoft’s strong market position and ability to generate revenue make the company appealing to potential buyers. But it is unlikely that they are willing to bet on the company at an EV/EBITDA multiple above 20 times, industry watchers said.

TmaxSoft is said to put priority on ensuring a speedy sale, which could lead to potential buyers being in a stronger negotiation position.

“Time is on the side of potential buyers. They could possibly raise their bids to above 800 billion won, but the 900 billion won valuation is unlikely,” an industry insider said. (Reporting by Hee-yeon Han)