[2023 Capital Investment Awards] MBK Partners, 3 Major Deals... The Might of 'Asia's Largest PE'

Best Deal of the Year Award

Kwang-il Kim, CEO of MBK Partners

MBK Partners, which won the Best Deal of the Year award, demonstrated its stature as Asia's top buyout fund by successfully completing three major deals from the end of last year through the first half of this year, including Medit, Osstem Implant, and Nexflex.

In particular, the collaboration with co-awardee UCK Partners stood out. The acquisition of Medit, the "global number one oral scanner company," with a transaction value reaching 2.425 trillion KRW, was recorded as a milestone to elevate the domestic unicorn company to a global leader. When MBK Partners completed the acquisition, UCK Partners, the founders, and related parties reinvested all proceeds from the share sale to remain as co-investors. This reaffirmed the global digital dental market and Medit's status and growth potential. It was evaluated as fostering an expectation of harmonious cooperation among the investment management firm, founders, and management.

Osstem Implant, with a transaction value exceeding 2.1 trillion KRW, is expected to be recorded as the most impressive merger and acquisition case this year. Forming a consortium with UCK Partners, they purchased shares through a tender offer conducted by a private equity fund (PE) in the stock market, marking the largest scale in history. Notably, to provide small shareholders who supported Osstem Implant with an opportunity to realize profits, they offered a purchase price of 190,000 KRW per share, the same as the largest shareholder, attracting attention. Ahead of the mandatory tender offer system introduction next year, this was the first case applying the same premium to small shareholders. Through a successful tender offer, the MBK Partners and UCK Partners consortium secured stable management rights, accelerated improvements in corporate governance, and is fully committed with the company's management to transform it into a leading global digital dental healthcare company.

MBK Partners also acquired Nexflex, Korea's number one flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL) manufacturer, at a price in the low 500 billion KRW range. FCCL is a raw material used in flexible printed circuit boards, a core component of IT devices such as smartphones and TVs. Nexflex is recognized for its technology and competitiveness to the extent that it supplies FCCL to both Samsung Electronics and Apple, the two global giants in smartphones.