이 기사는 2019년 11월 29일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Macquarie Group's funding plan to take over Daesung Industrial Gases has been outlined.

The Australian investment bank is currently conducting due diligence on Daesung Industrial Gases, a South Korea's leading industrial gas supplier, according to industry sources on Monday. The gas company is set to be acquired by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Funds (MAIF) that falls under Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), not by Macquarie Korea Opportunities Investment (Macquarie PE), the sources said.

Macquarie PE manages Macquarie Korea Opportunities Funds (MKOF) for Korean deals, which have invested in many domestic infrastructure-related businesses so far, including North East Chemicals and Kangnam City Gas. Recently, MKOF 4 has been launched to raise funds required to buy ADT Caps, the country's number two security service company. MKOF will also lead the acquisition of a minority stake in LG CNS, with Macquarie PE selected as the preferred bidder by the LG Group's ICT solution affiliate. The deal is expected to be signed early next year.

Meanwhile, MAIF focus on investments in assets related to energy and infrastructure in the Asian region. Macquarie is expected to use its $3.3 billion MAIF 2 for the acquisition of Daesung Industrial Gases. Launched in April of 2018, its second Asian regional infrastructure fund reportedly has plenty of dry powder.

Daesung Industrial Gases is the country's number one industrial gas supplier with stable profit, which made the company all the more appealing on the market. It appears that Macquarie has decided to invest in the gas company through MAIF 2 based on its confidence in running a utility company, with plenty of experience of investing in Asia's energy and infrastructure sectors through the fund. Previously Macquarie intended to use MAIF 2 when it attempted to acquire industrial gas company Linde Korea earlier this year.

Apart from using its own fund, Macquarie is also expected to secure over one trillion won ($848 million) in acquisition financing arranged by Samsung Securities and KB Securities.

Macquarie is currently performing due diligence, with Lazard providing financial advisory services on the deal. Samjong KPMG and Kim & Chang are acting as accounting advisor and legal advisor, respectively, to the Australian investment bank. MBK Partners, a South Korean private equity firm that put the gas company up on sale, hired Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor. The two sides are in final negotiations and expected to sign an agreement as early as the beginning of December.

Still there is one remaining hurdle to the deal, as MBK Partners reportedly refused to lower the price tag on the gas company, setting the enterprise value as high as 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion). Whether the two sides can make progress in the price negotiation is apparently key to the deal.

(By reporter Kim Hye-ran)