이 기사는 2020년 05월 22일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s Juvis Diet is accelerating a planned sale of itself as it attracts greater interest than expected from potential buyers.

Samsung Securities, acting as lead manager for the sale, has informed potential investors that the first round of bidding for Juvis Diet is slated to take place on May 29, sources said on Wednesday. They reportedly have also been told that the date could be delayed one or two weeks, depending on situation.

Juvis Diet offers weight-loss coaching programs and sells health functional food products. The company is expected to proceed with an auction process swiftly. If the schedule goes on as planned, the shortlisted bidders are likely to be announced before June, followed by the selection of the preferred bidder in July.

“Juvis Diet has been publicly put up for sale in April, but it was roughly a year ago that the company started negotiating with prospective buyers individually,” said a source. “As Juvis Diet received sufficient interest, it intends to complete the sale process quickly.”

A couple of local private equity firms as well as two strategic investors have received related information from Samsung Securities, weighing whether to join the bidding. These potential private equity investors have their active blind-pool funds, meaning they can promptly deploy capital if the seller pursues a quick completion of the transaction.

In the first round of bidding, bidders will propose their preferred deal structure along with their bidding price. A group of individuals that own all shares in Juvis Diet, including the company’s founder and chief executive Cho Seong-kyung, are seeking to sell their entire stake.

But some of the potential investors reportedly prefer to buy 70 percent to 90 percent of all shares in consideration of competition concerns as well as post-merger integration as Cho’s charisma plays an important role in the organization.

Some of other private equity firms have also showed interest but reportedly have yet to be invited to bid for the company. Samsung Securities has limited its target investors to bigger firms with active blind-pool funds. But it is still possible that Samsung Securities decides to invite more bidders, depending on response from an existing pool of potential investors.

Founded in 2002, Juvis Diet has grown rapidly in recent years as its celebrity marketing strategy succeeded. The company is seeking around 150 billion won ($122 million) for a 100 percent stake. It posted 47.9 billion won in revenue and 14.2 billion won in operating income in 2019.

(Reporting by Ik-hwan Choi)