이 기사는 2019년 11월 13일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Rumors that MBK Partners' portfolio company Daesung Industrial Gases could be soon put up for sale is getting intense, with Macquarie Korea Opportunities Investment (Macquarie PE) emerging as a prime candidate for the new owner.

MBK Partners, South Korean private equity firm, bought a 100 percent stake in the gas company from a consortium of Daesung Group Partners and Goldman Sachs in March of 2017 in a deal that valued the company at nearly 1.87 trillion won ($1.6 billion).

As it has been only a litter over two years since the acquisition was closed, many people have doubted the possibility of the sale when rumors about it began to circulate a few months ago. Recently, however, concrete evidence that some potential buyers set their sights on the gas company has been heard, with the number of funds investing in infrastructure-related assets continuing to increase.

Macquarie PE is by far one of the leading investment firms in the domestic infrastructure segment. In fact, the private equity firm has been mentioned among key potential buyers of the gas company. Earlier this year Macquarie PE also attempted to acquire industrial gas supplier Linde Korea, which ended up being sold to IMM Private Equity. In this light, Daesung Industrial Gases could be an attractive target to Macquarie PE to make up for a previously unsuccessful bid.

The industrial gas market, considered to generate stable cash flows, is a popular investment choice among major global private equity firms. This year the Linde Korea sale witnessed a tough three-cornered battle between IMM PE, TPG Capital and Macquarie PE, while MBK also competed fiercely with other two suitors - TPG and Pacific Alliance Group - for Daesung Industrial Gases until the last minute when the local private equity firm finally won the deal in 2017.

Under the MBK Partners' ownership, the gas company has become a more attractive target with stable earnings performance. The consolidated revenue of the company has trended upward for the last two years, from 512 billion won at the end of 2016 to 540 billion won in 2017 and 567 billion won in 2018. During the same period, its operating income and EBITDA also increased from 65 billion won to 94 billion won and from 117 billion won to 149 billion won, respectively. The company posted the EBITDA margin of 26.4 percent at the end of 2018.

Another factor that raises expectations for the sale is that the gas company is among the first in the queue of MBK's portfolio companies to be exited. The private equity firm successfully cleared two large companies - Orange Life and Woongjin Coway - from its backlog this year in deals worth a collective four trillion won.

For companies to be exited next year, Daesung Industrial Gases is considered a prime candidate, because its improved performance and an apparently high interest in the company can lead to another successful exit. It is widely expected that MBK would not yet put other portfolios such as Nepa and Homeplus up for sale, whose performance still has a room for improvement.

MBK appears to prefer a private negotiation with suitors, rather than public bidding, when considering its previously exited investments. It is highly likely that this would be the case for Daesung Industrial Gases. Several global private equity firms reportedly already contacted MBK, even though the gas company has not been put up for sale officially.

(By reporter Han Hee-yeon)