이 기사는 2020년 04월 28일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s private equity firm IMM Investment has started to work on post-merger integration of its communications service company, Dreamline Corporation.

Dreamline, which was acquired by IMM Investment last year, plans to appoint a new chief executive, sources familiar with the matter said on April 23. The PE firm bought a controlling stake in the company from Korea Investment Private Equity (KI PE) through its eighth infrastructure fund.

“From what I understand, IMM Investment have recently made a decision on Dreamline’s new chief executive role after meeting with several candidates with expertise in system integration,” an industry insider said.

Dreamline is expected to place a stronger focus on internet data centers (IDC) in the future. KI PE, the previous owner of the company, already established the foundation for further expansion in this business area, with creation of Dreammark 1, Dreamline’s subsidiary company providing IDC services in 2016 and the acquisition of tangible assets relating to IDC business for 50 billion won from Shinsegae Information & Communication in 2018.

The move would mark a change from the company’s growth strategy under KI PE’s ownership, where Dreamline focused on its leased line business. The company has been in IDC business for about three years, but the segment’s contribution to revenue remains small: Less than five percent of the company’s total revenue on a consolidated basis came from Dreammark 1 in the past two years.

IMM Investment is expected to expand the company’s IDC business through a bolt-on strategy, where Dreammark 1 acquires other smaller IDC companies to grow in size.

“The demand for online content and data continues to grow, and the COVID-19 outbreak is only accelerating this trend,” an industry insider said. “The share of IDC segment in Dreamline’s business will likely increase gradually. IMM Investment is expected to make an aggressive effort to expand infrastructure related to IDC.”

Before the buyout of Dreamline, IMM also bought a controlling stake in GS ITM, GS Group’ system integration solutions unit, in a partnership with JKL Partners in 2018.

(By reporter Kim Byung-yoon)