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GS Group is weighing whether to join the race to acquire botox maker Hugel, although industry observers remain skeptical of that happening given the South Korean conglomerate’s cautious approach to acquisitions in the past.

GS Holdings, the holding company of GS Group, said in a filing on June 29 that it considered investing in a minority stake in Hugel as part of a consortium but nothing has been finalized. The filing came after media reported that GS Group is in talks to buy the pharmaceutical firm from US buyout firm Bain Capital.

GS Group has always been cautious about mergers and acquisitions, and it won’t be different this time, industry watchers said.

“GS Group has become more active in the mergers and acquisitions market since chairman Heo Tae-soo took over in 2019, but still there has been no big deal involving the conglomerate,” an industry insider said, adding that its participation in the sale process for Hugel is also unlikely.

GS participated in the sale processes for notable targets, including Incheon Oil, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Oilbank and Korea Express in the 2000s. But it ultimately withdrew or lost out to competing bidders. In 2011, it submitted bids for Hi-Mart and KT Rental, but each company ended up being sold to Eugene Group and Lotte Group.

In recent years, GS also showed interest in acquiring Asiana Airlines, Woongjin Coway, SK Networks’ gas stations assets and Doosan Infracore. However, none of them were acquired by the conglomerate eventually.

GS did make value-add acquisitions. It bought GS Global, formerly Ssangyong Corporation, for 120 billion won ($106 million) in 2009 and GS E&R, formerly STX Energy, for 560 billion won in 2014. But these were hardly landmark deals that signified the conglomerate’s future strategic direction, industry watchers said.

GS, however, is clearly trying to shed its conservative culture under Heo’s leadership, some observers said. The conglomerate has also raised a fund to invest in future growth opportunities.

GS Holdings had cash and cash equivalents of 159.3 billion won on a non-consolidated basis at the end of March. Its debt ratio stood at 20.7%, lower than the industry average. (Reporting by Ki-soo Park)