"Activation of SME and Venture Company M&A"... Ministry of SMEs and Startups Holds Conference

M&A Ecosystem Members Gather for Exchange
Kibo Explains Public-Private Cooperation M&A Platform Establishment

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 7th that it held the '2024 Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Conference' at the Royal Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Provided by Getty Images Bank

Since its inception in 2016, the M&A Conference has served as a meeting place where members of the M&A ecosystem?including small and venture businesses seeking M&A, M&A brokerage and advisory institutions, and corporate venture capitalists (VCs)?can interact.

During the first part of the event, Seunghwan Hong, a partner at Samil Accounting Corporation who conducted the research, presented on the 'Current Status of Domestic Small and Venture Business M&A.' Following this, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation explained the 'Plan to Establish a Public-Private Cooperation M&A Platform.' The public-private cooperation M&A platform is a task included in the 'Small Business Leap Strategy' announced by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in March. Starting in 2025, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation plans to collaborate with private M&A brokerage institutions to provide one-stop support?from matching M&A demand and supply, evaluating the technology value held by the acquired companies, to financing required for M&A.

Along with this, a launch ceremony was held for the 'Small and Venture Business M&A Partners' and 10 private M&A brokerage firms that will participate in the public-private cooperation M&A platform. The Small and Venture Business M&A Partners are expected to begin full-scale activities starting in 2025.

In the second part of the event, successful cases of small and venture business M&A were presented, followed by an expert discussion aimed at revitalizing small and venture business M&A. During the expert discussion, various participants in the M&A market?including acquirers, acquisition targets, financial investors of acquisition targets, and brokerage institutions?discussed ways to activate small and venture business M&A policies from their respective perspectives.

Kim Seongseop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “The scale and characteristics of M&A announced today represent the first-ever understanding of the status of small and venture business M&A aligned with the Ministry’s policy objectives.” He added, “The Ministry plans to explore directions for revitalizing small and venture business M&A based on data through further analysis of M&A data.”