Blackstone signs over $1bn deal with MBK for 1st exit in Korea

The US asset manager will sell a 71.25% stake in drug wholesaler Geo-Young, the corporate value of which is around $1.4 billion.

 

Private equity giant Blackstone Inc. is set to mark its first exit from South Korea by selling a 71.25% stake in the holding firm of Geo-Young Corp., the country’s largest medicine wholesaler, for more than $1 billion to Asian buyout firm MBK Partners, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

MBK recently signed a stock purchase agreement to buy the controlling stake in the holding firm Cho Sunhae GY Holdings Co., according to sources. The company, valued at around 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), owns 100% of Geo-Young.

Geo-Young co-founder and Chairwoman Cho Sun-hae, who owns a 21.99% stake in the holding firm, will maintain her ownership and seek co-management of the company with MBK, sources added.

 

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The sale is expected to bring nearly a 100% return to Blackstone as the holding company’s value has almost doubled since the New York-based private equity firm’s acquisition in 2019.

Market watchers expect the deal to mark this year’s first transaction exceeding 1 trillion won in Korea’s merger and acquisition market and accelerate large M&As in the second quarter.

Source:KED

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