Successful Block Deal of 1 Billion KRW Scale Bithumb Shares Between Domestic VC and Hong Kong PE

Deal Closed Between SBI Investment and Hong Kong-based PE

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] A block deal involving approximately 1 billion KRW worth of unlisted Bithumb Korea shares took place between a domestic venture capital (VC) firm and a Hong Kong-based private equity (PE) firm.

PSX, which operates the unlisted stock trading platform 'Seoul Exchange Unlisted,' announced on the 6th that through its recently launched 'Seoul Exchange Unlisted Block Deal' service, a fund managed by the domestic venture capital firm SBI Investment sold about 1 billion KRW worth of Bithumb Korea shares to an affiliate of a Hong Kong-based asset management company.

Last month, Seoul Exchange Unlisted introduced a block deal service that connects institutional investors such as venture capital and asset management firms for capital recovery and investment. The service quickly links sellers and buyers who want to transact at least 100 million KRW in a single deal. This transaction included foreign exchange operations related to capital transactions, and smooth trading was made possible with the support of Seoul Exchange’s foreign exchange specialists.

Meanwhile, Seoul Exchange surpassed 200,000 monthly active users (MAU) within four months of its official launch at the end of last year. Recently, it has also selected a consulting firm to apply for an Alternative Trading System (ATS) business license early next year. The goal is to move away from the existing commission-based trading structure and expand diversity in the investment market.

Kim Seyoung, CEO of Seoul Exchange Unlisted, said, "The goal of the block deal service is to diversify the limited capital recovery channels for VCs. As requests from overseas investment institutions wanting to invest in domestic startups increase, we will continue to expand the service so that various customers can use Seoul Exchange Unlisted Block Deal."