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South Korean online recruiting company JobKorea could be valued at as much as 800 billion won, with its dominant market position and stable cash flow expected to attract attention from potential buyers.

Seoul-based H&Q Korea has hired Morgan Stanley to handle the sale of its portfolio company JobKorea, sources familiar with the matter said on February 27. Although a sale process has yet to start officially, the company has drawn strong interest from some potential strategic and financial investors because of its ability to generate stable cash flow.

JobKorea reportedly posted EBITDA of 48.5 billion won for 2019, approximately 2.6 times greater than EBITDA for 2013 when the PE firm acquired 49.9 percent of the online recruiting company. This represents the company’s EBITDA has grown at a CAGR of more than 17 percent over the past six years.

At an estimated EV/EBTIDA multiple ranging between 12 and 16, JobKorea’s current EBITDA would translate into an enterprise value of up to 800 billion won. Given that the company has little debt – net of cash and cash equivalents – its equity value would also be almost the same amount as the enterprise value.

JobKorea’s estimated EV/EBITDA multiple is higher than its peers. Saramin HR, the operator of Saramin.co.kr, for instance, has an implied EV/EBITDA multiple of around 10. The discrepancy is due to JobKorea’s advantage of having a more diverse platform than its rivals: The company not only operates JobKorea.co.kr, its crown jewel, but also owns part-time job portal Albamon and gaming job portal Gamejob.

In 2015, H&Q bought the remaining 50.1 percent stake in JobKorea in a deal that valued the online recruiting company at about 201 billion won. Thus, if the company is sold at an estimated EV/EBITDA multiple, this would represent a threefold to fourfold growth in equity value in the past five years.

The PE firm is said to have already locked in gains surpassing its total investment in the company, which is worth 105 billion won, through dividends and recapitalization transactions. It also has seen sufficient interest from potential buyers. So, the firm appears to have no reason to rush to sell the asset, but rather to favor spending time weighing the timing of the exit, industry watchers said.

JobKorea is the number one online recruiting company in the country, with the largest market share exceeding 40 percent. On the back of its dominant position in the market, the company reportedly posted revenue of 107 billion won for the 12 months that ended December 2019, a significant increase from 53 billion won for 2013.

(By reporter Rho Ar-rum)