이 기사는 2020년 03월 31일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners (Anchor Equity) has invested in Market Boro, the country’s business to business (B2B) food ingredients distribution platform, via Daily Food Holdings.

Daily Food Holdings, the de facto holding company of Anchor Equity’s portfolio composed of food ingredients companies, has invested 10 billion won to acquire Market Boro’s redeemable convertible preference shares (RCPS), according to industry sources on March 26.

Established in 2016, Market Boro connects suppliers of the food ingredients distribution market with consumers using IT technologies. The company provides two main services, including B2B ingredient-ordering platform Market Bom and restaurants-only B2B open market Foodspring. According to the company, Market Boro’s total volume handled amounts to around 367.7 billion won.

Market Bom provides restaurant owners with enterprise resource planning (ERP) service so that they can place orders for ingredients by mobile app instead of conventional ways of ordering by making phone calls and sending text messages. Foodspring is a platform that offers ingredients at discounts to big discount chains and retailers. Commission earned by Market Bom is currently Market Boro’s main source of revenue.

Market Boro has received investments worth around three billion won from Bass Investment, NAU IB Capital, GSA Private Equity and The Turning Point.

Anchor Equity’s Daily Food Holdings is a portfolio composed of small-sized food ingredients companies. Daily Food Holding is a de facto holding company that was formed to achieve economies of scale in the domestic food ingredients distribution market, which is mainly made up of small businesses. According to the company’s consolidated audit report as of the end of 2018, it recorded sales of 213.2 billion won and EBITDA of 19.5 billion won.

Anchor Equity acquired a controlling stake in the country’s biggest mushroom producer Daeheung Farm for approximately 50 billion won in May 2016. In addition to Daeheung Farm, Daily Food Holdings has food additives producers, grain millers, food processors and distributors under its umbrella.

After taking over Daeheung Farm, the holding company acquired Hyunjin Green Meal. It also bought Rich Meal through Hyunjin Green Meal. Hyunjin Green Meal also has Geum Young Food Stuff and Meal Plus as consolidated entities. Daily Food Holdings acquired Hwami, which has Sun Nong Food as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Unlike Daily Food Holdings’ previous acquisitions which have been focused on agricultural producers, producers and sellers of food ingredients, its latest deal marks the company’s first investment in IT-based distribution platform.

Anchor Equity has expanded its portfolio companies by implementing a bolt-on strategy in which a private equity firm aims to generate synergy by investing in companies in the same or similar industry.

(By reporter Han Hee-yeon)