이 기사는 2022년 03월 03일 08시03분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

British private equity (PE) firm CVC Capital Partners may participate in a race to take over Burger King’s operations in South Korea and Japan.

CVC Capital is considering whether to make the investment after receiving information memorandum from sale advisor Goldman Sachs, according to industry sources.

“We are actively exploring various investment opportunities in the country,” said an official at CVC Capital, adding, “We can’t confirm anything about the Burger King deal.”

Market insiders are paying attention to a link between CVC Capital and Affinity Equity Partners, which is selling Burger King Korea and Burger King Japan. CVC Capital appointed Chris Rhee as its Seoul office head and global partner in May 2021. Prior to joining CVC Capital, Rhee was a partner at Affinity Equity Partners and an executive director at UBS Investment Bank in New York.

CVC Capital hasn’t made any new investment since Rhee joined the firm last year. The acquisition of the accommodation booking app operator GC Company in September 2019 was CVC Capital’s last investment in the country.

After that, the British PE firm showed interest in acquiring online learning company Etoos and a stake in CJ Group’s streamer Tving, but no deals have been made.

Some market insiders said the PE firm’s investment committee is an obstacle to making active investments. “There is no doubt about Rhee’s deal sourcing ability given his career at an investment bank,” an industry source said. “However, it would take a lot of energy to convince CVC Capital’s investment committee, which is widely known for its conservative approach.” (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)