이 기사는 2022년 05월 11일 08:13 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Koo Bon-sung and his sister Koo Mi-hyun, who together own 57.85% of catering service provider Our Home, appear to be trying to put the highest price tag as possible on their majority stake.

La Défense Partners, which is managing the sale process, started sending out a teaser to potential buyers at the end of last month. The teaser, seen by the bell, provided estimates of the 100% equity value for Our Home.

The teaser said based on enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EV/EBITDA) multiples derived from the peer firms and the company’s trailing 12 month earnings, the equity value is estimated to be between 440.6 billion won ($345.9 million) and 1.38 trillion won. Based on the company’s forward 12 month earnings, the equity value estimates range from 443.5 billion won to 894.6 billion won.

When EV-to-revenue or price-to-book value multiples is used, the company’s equity value is estimated at up to more than 2.5 trillion won. This is much higher than the equity value calculated with the average EV/EBITDA multiple from recent acquisitions in the South Korean food and beverage industry.

Based on the average EV/EBITDA multiple of 10 times and Our Home’s 2021 consolidated EBITDA of 101.8 billion won, the EV is estimated to be 1.02 trillion won. Subtracting out the company’s net debt of 389.9 billion won (as of the end of 2021) results in the equity value of 628.3 billion won.

The peer group included Shinsegae Food, CJ Freshway and Hyundai Green Food among domestic companies. They are listed on the South Korean stock exchange, with the average EV/EBITDA multiple of about 7 times based on their trailing 12 month earnings.

But most of the overseas companies included in the peer group have EV/EBITDA multiples that pretty much exceed 10 times, pushing up the overall average multiple.

Among the foreign companies included in the peer group are British multinational contract foodservice companies SSP Group and Compass Group.

The 57.85% stake owned by Koo Bon-sung and Koo Mi-hyun is estimated to be worth about 1 trillion won in the market. But they are reportedly seeking to sell their shares for 1.5 trillion won or more.

Apart from the high price tag, there are other factors that could reduce the company’s attractiveness to potential buyers.

According to the company’s articles of association, any sale of shares by its existing shareholders requires the board’s approval. Moreover, other Koo family members have the right to first refusal to buy each other’s stakes in Our Home. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)