M&A-Hopeful SMEs Met with Large and Mid-Sized Enterprises

'2022 M&A Conference' Held

Jo Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the '2022 M&A Conference' held on the 23rd at The-K Hotel Yangjae in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 23rd that it held the '2022 M&A Conference' at The-K Hotel (Seocho-gu, Seoul) to promote mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups.

This event was organized to provide a platform for cooperation and exchange between SMEs and startups seeking new growth engines through M&A and large and medium-sized enterprises, and was conducted through collaboration among the 12 M&A support centers designated and operated by the Ministry.

At the venue, consultation booths for each M&A support center were set up to provide professional consultations on accounting, taxation, legal matters, and more. Additionally, nine companies wishing to sell held corporate presentations targeting large and medium-sized enterprises, venture capitalists, and M&A advisory institutions interested in acquiring them.

The Ministry plans to actively promote financial support and institutional improvements to vitalize M&A, as well as significantly expand the mother fund, to establish a complete startup ecosystem where startup-investment-growth-exit are organically connected.

First, this year, the Ministry will create intermediate exit funds worth 320 billion KRW, three times larger than last year, including M&A dedicated venture funds, LP equity securitization funds, and venture re-leap secondary funds. In particular, the M&A venture fund will be allowed to invest in listed companies pursuing corporate acquisitions to support acquisitions, and investment regulations will be market-friendly improved by permitting the establishment of special purpose companies for investment.

The 'SME M&A Support Center,' which has been mainly operated by public institutions, will from this year include actual market players such as accounting firms, law firms, and M&A specialized venture capitalists to strengthen consulting support functions.

Furthermore, the Ministry plans to support large corporations actively engaging in strategic investments that discover new growth businesses or acquire new technologies through corporate venture capital to increase market dominance. In particular, it will cooperate with related ministries to promote the use of the corporate venture capital system, which has been allowed even for general holding groups.

Vice Minister Cho Joo-hyun said, "The Ministry will continue efforts to substantially vitalize M&A for SMEs and startups," adding, "We will actively improve based on opinions collected from the industry in consultation with related ministries."