Foreign PEF Hillhouse Selected as Preferred Bidder for IGIS Asset Management Acquisition

It has been reported that a foreign private equity fund (PEF) management company has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of IGIS Asset Management, the largest real estate asset management company in Korea.

According to the financial investment industry on December 8, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the lead managers for the sale of IGIS Asset Management, have selected Hillhouse Investment, a foreign PEF, as the preferred bidder and are now in the final coordination stage.

Hillhouse Investment reportedly offered 1.1 trillion won as the acquisition price after the main bidding process.

Initially, Hillhouse Investment is said to have proposed a price in the mid-900 billion won range, but raised the bid through a 'progressive deal,' a process in which potential buyers compete by increasing their offers after the main bidding round.

Other participants included Hanwha Life, which offered a price in the mid-900 billion won range in the main bid, and Heungkuk Life, which proposed approximately 1.05 trillion won.

After the selection of the preferred bidder, the financial authorities will conduct a major shareholder eligibility review. If approved, the transaction will be finalized in the first half of next year with the payment of the remaining balance.

Hillhouse Investment is a PEF management company headquartered in Singapore, and has previously invested in Korean companies such as SK On and SK Ecoplant.