이 기사는 2019년 12월 23일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Macquarie Group has proved itself as a strong player in energy and infrastructure sectors, with successfully acquiring South Korea’s leading gas supplier Daesung Industrial Gases.

Macquarie Group has signed an agreement to buy the entirety of Daesung Industrial Gases from MBK Partners for more than 2.5 trillion won ($2.12 billion) on December 16, industry sources said. The gas company, to be exact, is acquired by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Funds (MAIF) that falls under Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). MAIF will make an investment in Daesung through its second fund, which closed at $3.3 billion in April of 2018.

Macquarie already invested in various infrastructure assets across Asia through MAIF II, including toll roads in India and the Philippines’ largest geothermal developer. With this deal, the Australian investment bank has added another high quality asset to the fund’s portfolio.

The deal is all the more meaningful to Macquarie after two missed opportunities: Linde Korea and subsidiaries of GS Energy.

Earlier this year, Macquarie had bid for Linde Group's Korean industrial gas business, but the target ended up being sold to IMM Private Equity. Prior to that in 2018, Macquarie also participated in an auction for two regional gas suppliers under GS Energy – the energy business arm of South Korean conglomerate GS Group – which were snapped up by IMM Private Equity in the end.

To make up for missed chances, Macquarie moved fast and decisively this time and finally secured exclusive negotiation rights from MBK Partners last month. It also took only about a month until the two parties signed the deal since then.

Energy and infrastructure sectors are Macquarie’s areas of strength. Apart from MAIF, MIRA is managing several funds that invest in infrastructure assets in Europe and North America. Macquarie has also launched a new fund worth one billion euros this year, with the aim of investing in the European renewable energy sector including wind and solar power.

Meanwhile, Macquarie Korea Opportunities Investment (Macquarie PE), which supported MAIF throughout the deal process, appears to have played an important role, with its professional network in the country and expertise in domestic energy and infrastructure sectors.

(By reporters Kim Hye-ran and Han Hee-yeon)