이 기사는 2020년 05월 15일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

BRV Capital Management has unexpectedly withdrawn its decision to invest in South Korean auto parts company Myoung Shin Co., Ltd.

BRV Capital Management has recently decided not to invest in Myoung Shin and notified the company, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

BRV Capital Management had reportedly decided to invest approximately 120 billion won in the auto parts company and had conducted due diligence. Progress has been reportedly made, with Yoon Kwan, general partner at BRV Capital Management, directly discussing with executives of the company. Yoon is also a son-in-law of Koo Bon-moo, the late chairman of South Korean conglomerate LG Group. BRV Capital Management was expected to buy convertible preferred stock or convertible bond issued by Myoung Shin or its associates.

The process has been halted all of a sudden. An investment banking industry source said that BRV Capital Management has suddenly decided not to invest in the company. “BRV Capital Management has reversed its decision, saying that limited partners who invested in its blind-pool fund may dodge capital calls amid the outbreak of the COVID-19,” said the source.

The issue related to capital calls has been a concern since BRV Capital Management first discussed the investment. This is because Chinese and Taiwanese funds were involved in the blind-pool fund formed by BRV Capital Management. China's foreign exchange regulator State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) declared in 2018 that it will strictly control capital flight from China to other countries by 2020.

Some market insiders said the deal fell through due to issues related to capital call amid the coronavirus pandemic. But, a BRV Capital Management official said the two sides couldn't reach an agreement on the terms and conditions of the deal and there is still a possibility of resuming the process.

BRV Capital Management is also facing criticism for its unilateral decision. The company is reportedly seeking other investors to fill the investment vacuum left by the BRV Capital Management’s latest decision.

BRV Capital Management is well known in the domestic market having invested in several domestic companies including Daesung Industrial Gases and EcoPro GEM. It also invested last year in SSG.com, Shinsegae Group’s online shopping platform, in a partnership with Hong Kong-based PE firm Affinity Equity Partners.

(By reporter Kim Byung-yoon)