Airute "Woojin Holdings Signs SPA Main Contract for Sale of Woojin Gijeon"

A-Route announced on the 13th that its affiliate Woojin Holdings has signed the final Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA) with domestic private equity firm Curious Partners (Curious) for the sale of Woojin Gijeon. Previously, Woojin Holdings had selected Curious as the preferred bidder in March.

Curious has successfully executed corporate financial and business structure improvements for a wide range of companies, from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations such as Dongbu Group (DB Group), E-Land Group, Sungwoon Tank Terminal, Samsung Heavy Industries’ drillship investments, and Daewon Group, based on its differentiated deal structuring capabilities. It is recognized as a leading firm in the structured finance strategy sector.

The subject of the sale under the contract is 100% of the shares of Woojin Gijeon. The sale price is expected to be around 235 billion KRW. This amount reflects deductions for dividends already received, making the total sale price, including these adjustments, consistent with the previously agreed 262 billion KRW. The remaining payment is scheduled for the end of this month, and the deal closing is expected to be completed within May.

An A-Route representative stated, “The proceeds from the sale of Woojin Gijeon will be actively utilized to secure growth engines through new businesses such as semiconductor equipment and resource recycling.” He emphasized, “A-Route has entered high-profit, high-margin new markets centered on the semiconductor equipment company NSRC and the recycling specialist company A-Route Eco. These new businesses are expected to deliver visible results this year and next year, contributing to earnings growth and providing a foundation for the company’s further advancement.”

Earlier this year, A-Route entered the power semiconductor equipment market by acquiring the semiconductor equipment specialist NSRC. NSRC is a unique supplier of refurbished lithography equipment in Korea. Lithography equipment is one of the core devices in semiconductor manufacturing. Demand has been steadily increasing recently due to the boom in front-end markets such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, and data centers.

A-Route Eco is also accelerating its business by successfully holding the groundbreaking ceremony for the Seosan resource recycling plant on the 30th of last month. The Seosan resource recycling plant, scheduled for completion in the second half of this year, is a large-scale resource recycling facility with an annual processing capacity of up to 75,000 tons. A-Route expects that this facility will quickly generate revenue after completion, enabling prompt contributions to earnings.