Netmarble tried to acquire Hanssem with IMM PE Korean game publisher wanted to create synergies with its subscription business
Translated by Kim So-in 공개 2021-09-15 08:05:31
이 기사는 2021년 09월 15일 07:56 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
It turned out that South Korea’s leading online game publisher Netmarble tried to acquire Hanssem, the country's largest furniture company, as a strategic investor along with local private equity (PE) firm IMM PE.IMM PE tapped various firms including Netmarble during a process to select its strategic investor, industry sources said on Monday. IMM PE had been in talks with South Korean conglomerates like Lotte Group, LX Hausys, Shinsegae, and KCC, and chose Lotte Shopping as its strategic partner.
Among potential investors, Netmable had showed keen interest in the deal along with LX Hausys. The game publisher has been the most active in making mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among domestic game companies. Netmarble acquired water purifier rental firm Woongjin Coway for 1.74 trillion won ($1.49 billion) last year and recently took over Hong Kong-based mobile social casino game company SpinX for 2.51 trillion won, both of which were the largest in the gaming industry at the time of the acquisition.
Netmarble attempted to acquire the country’s largest furniture company to create synergies with its subsidiary Woongjin Coway’s subscription business. Woongjin Coway is expanding its subscription business from water purifier and mattress to beauty and healthcare.
Netmarble made a bid to acquire Woongjin Coway to enter the subscription economy and smart home business. It plans to develop its smart home subscription business by combining IT technologies it acquired from its gaming business, including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and big data, and operational skills.
Hanssem also launched a mattress subscription service in January, with plans to offer other types of furniture in the future.
The country's retail giant Lotte Shopping is set to invest 300 billion won to acquire Hanssem together with IMM PE, which is more than enough for Netmarble to cover given its abundant cash reserves.
Netmarble took a short-term loan worth about 1.78 trillion won, about 71% of the acquisition cost, for the takeover of SpinX. But the game publisher still has abundant cash as it retrieved around 390 billion won by selling its stake in KakaoBank and is receiving more than 50 billion won in dividends every year through Woongjin Coway. Netmarble had cash and cash-equivalent assets worth 991 billion won in the first half on a consolidated basis.
Other Korean players, including SK Networks, LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics had reportedly also considered a possible acquisition of Hanssem. (Reporting by Ha-na Suh)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- 경남제약 품는 휴마시스, 유통네트워크·진단키트 '시너지'
- [Company Watch]글로벌텍스프리, 프랑스 자회사 '적자 전환'
- [Red & Blue]'주목도 높아지는 폐배터리' 새빗켐, 침묵 깨고 반등
- [HLB '리보세라닙' 미국 진출기]시장 우려 불식 나선 진양곤, 갑자기 마련된 기자회견
- 효성화학 특수가스 사업부, '경영권 지분 매각'으로 선회
- 한양, 만기도래 회사채 '사모채'로 차환한다
- 동인기연, 'GS 출신' 30년 베테랑 전호철 상무 영입 '성장 방점'
- 에스트래픽, 적자 '일시적 현상'... 2분기 수익개선 기대
- [Company Watch]'자회사 회생신청' 투비소프트, 성과 없는 신사업
- '크라우드 펀딩' 와디즈, '테슬라 요건' 상장 추진