Unlimited Commitment, Not a "Strip-and-Run"... Private Equity Firm Centroid Injects 28 Billion Won

Supporting financial normalization, not short-term gains
"Industrial ecosystem and job stability...a model of mutually beneficial capital"

Behind the term private equity fund (PEF) often follow negative labels such as "asset strip-and-run," "corporate raider," and "job insecurity." The controversy surrounding the Homeplus rehabilitation process has further reinforced this perception. Against this backdrop, mid-sized private equity firm Centroid Investment is drawing attention by acting as "responsible capital."

Centroid acquired 100% management control of IT company Solid ENG in December 2017. Solid ENG had grown by building product lifecycle management (PLM) systems for manufacturers in sectors such as automotive and aerospace. However, it began to face worsening profitability as it ran into headwinds from intensifying industry competition and shrinking IT budgets in the public sector.

A typical private equity fund would likely choose to crystallize the loss or pursue aggressive restructuring. Centroid made a different choice. After the company began experiencing liquidity difficulties, Centroid injected a total of 28 billion won of its own general partner (GP) capital into Solid ENG through the end of 2025.

It did not stop at a simple loan. Recently, after close consultations with the limited partners (LPs) that committed capital to this PEF, Centroid converted the entire amount into perpetual convertible bonds. By completely removing the company’s repayment and interest burdens and converting debt into equity, it completed the normalization of the firm’s financial structure.

Going beyond mere financial support, Centroid also swiftly dispatched three key GP personnel to Solid ENG’s front line. It appointed Executive Director Kim Jinman, who had overseen portfolio operations, as president, and Executive Director Baek Minwoo from the investment division as vice president, placing them in charge of overall management. It also deployed AI expert Manager Song Byungchae to directly lead a new artificial intelligence transformation (AX) business. This move has been viewed as a clear signal that the GP is not remaining a simple financial investor, but is instead choosing to share the company’s fate.

These efforts are gradually translating into results. Solid ENG was selected in 2025 as an AI Data Voucher supplier, reaffirming its technological capabilities, and it is garnering market attention as it ramps up its AX business for manufacturing companies. In addition, with revenue from its cloud segment growing more than 20% every year and strengthening a new earnings base, the company is now widely expected to return to the black this year.

A capital markets expert commented, "Unlike the prevailing private equity practice of breaking up and selling off underperforming assets, this is a case where the GP directly assumed the risk in order to protect the industrial ecosystem and employment," adding, "This represents the kind of genuine ESG management and fulfillment of social responsibility that the capital market should be pursuing."