Ark & Partners Completes Acquisition of Cosmetics Packaging Company Changshin

Sales of 74 Billion Won and Operating Profit of 17.3 Billion Won in 2024
"K-beauty Boom Just Beginning, Driven by Overseas Gen Z"

Private equity fund (PEF) manager Ark & Partners has acquired Changshin, a cosmetics packaging manufacturer with a 37-year history. Analysts say the company highly valued the growth potential of the packaging industry, which is a key part of the value chain associated with K-beauty, currently enjoying global popularity.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on December 29, Ark & Partners recently completed the final payment and finalized the acquisition of Changshin, a cosmetics packaging manufacturing and distribution company. Changshin's corporate value was assessed at the mid-200 billion won range during the acquisition process, and Ark & Partners is reported to have acquired a majority stake in the company.

Founded in 1988, Changshin counts major domestic and international cosmetics brands among its clients. As of 2024, the company recorded sales of 74 billion won and operating profit of 17.3 billion won. Compared to 2023, sales increased by 53%, while operating profit surged by 166%. In just the first half of 2025, the company achieved EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of over 12 billion won.

Changshin has secured indie skincare brands, which are driving the K-beauty boom in overseas markets, as core clients. The company has rapidly expanded its client base to include foreign indie brands, resulting in explosive growth over the past few years.

With this acquisition, Changshin becomes the fifth portfolio company of Ark & Partners, following HR and business solutions platform Remember (2021), fashion select shop Kasina (2022), lifestyle service platform Soomgo (2024), and AI upskilling startup Team Sparta (2025).

Ark & Partners plans to actively invest in Changshin to respond to customer needs more quickly and proactively.

Ark & Partners has so far selected investment targets based on two main criteria. The first criterion is companies that can drive digital and AI transformation within existing industries. The second criterion is companies that will benefit from demographic changes.

Investments in Remember, Soomgo, and Team Sparta were based on the first criterion, while the acquisition of Changshin is explained as an investment based on the second criterion, focusing on demographic and consumer landscape changes.

Ark & Partners believes that K-beauty has even greater growth potential due to changes in demographics and consumption trends in major overseas markets. While K-beauty’s global market share remains at just 3.5%, Gen Z consumers (born in the late 1990s to early 2000s) in the United States, Europe, and Japan are emerging as key K-beauty consumers. The company expects K-beauty’s global market share to at least double going forward.

The "picks and shovels" strategy-investing in related industries such as cosmetics packaging manufacturing, which naturally grow alongside core growth sectors like cosmetics brands-was also cited as a key reason behind the acquisition of Changshin.

An Ark & Partners representative said, "We expect K-beauty to continue its structural and sustained growth," adding, "We believe Changshin, with its major indie brand clients, is the related company that stands to benefit the most from the growth of K-beauty brands."

Ark & Partners has focused on investing in mid-sized startups and small but strong companies that are too large for individual venture capital but too small for large private equity funds, creating an 'investment gap.' The company has pursued a growth buyout strategy, acquiring management control of such companies, accelerating their growth, and then selling them. Changshin is described as fitting this size category.

The IB industry expects Ark & Partners to likely pursue a bolt-on strategy, actively acquiring M&A targets in the same or related industries to expand Changshin’s packaging product lineup or secure additional clients.

Kim Sungmin, CEO of Ark & Partners, said, "Ark’s operating partners are executives with extensive experience in the manufacturing sector," adding, "We also have a strong pool of talented executives with diverse and deep experience in manufacturing, so we are confident in Changshin’s growth."