이 기사는 2019년 11월 13일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea's private equity firm Unison Capital is accelerating its pace to raise funds necessary for the acquisition of Medit.

Unison Capital has prepared a detailed funding plan for covering the acquisition of the country's 3D scanning venture, aiming to complete the transaction by early December, according to investment banking sources on November 7.

Last month the private equity firm signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) to buy a 50 percent stake plus one share belonging to Chang Min-ho, founder and CEO of Medit. The amount of the deal, in which the startup was valued at approximately 640 billion won ($550 million), was about 320 billion won ($275 million).

Unison Capital, which already signed a letter of commitment (LOC) with NH Investment & Securities, plans to raise only a fifth (about 60 billion won) of the total deal size through acquisition financing from the securities firm, the sources said. The remaining amount is going to be raised through the private equity firm's blind-pool fund and a co-investment fund planned to be raised soon.

Unison Capital is currently managing a 500 billion won fund, its second blind-pool fund that was recently raised with participation from major domestic LPs, including the National Pension Service (NPS), the Korean Teachers' Credit Union, Korea Post and the Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA). As, in general, up to 20 percent of the total amount of the fund can be invested in a single investment, about 100 billion won of the blind-pool fund is likely to be allocated to the acquisition of Medit.

The rest amount of 160 billion won is planned to be funded through a co-investment fund that Unison Capital sets to establish together with the LPs of its second blind-pool fund. NH Investment, which promised to provide acquisition financing to the private equity firm, is reportedly also considering investing in the co-investment fund.

Unison Capital is aiming to pay the total amount to close the transaction by early next month, though all works associated with the deal are expected to complete early next year, considering time for a new fund to be set up.

After the deal is closed, Unison Capital plans to utilize its proprietary program called the Value Creation Plan (VCP) to increase the value of Medit. The private equity firm explained that the VCP is different from other value-added programs in that it puts emphasis on strengthening partnership by actively engaging with executives at portfolio companies.

Unison Capital is an independent private equity firm led by three partners - Kim Soo-min, Shin Sun-wha and Gwak Seung-woong - and has investments in major areas in Asia, including Japan and Singapore. Since founded in 1998, the firm has launched two blind-pool funds in South Korea so far, raising more than 800 billion won ($687 million) in aggregate. Both funds reportedly recorded a robust return, particularly in the domestic mid-cap market.

(By reporter Choi lk-hwan)