SKC headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of SKC

By Anna J. Park

Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co. said that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the industrial film business of SKC, an affiliate of Korea's SK Group, earlier this month. The 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion) buyout deal is the country's largest M&A transaction closed this year.

Hahn & Co. and the SK Group signed a stock purchase agreement in June this year, laying out that the Seoul-based private equity firm would acquire a 100-percent stake in SKC's polyester (PET) film business at the price of 1.6 trillion won.

SKC's industrial film unit is the largest in Korea and the fourth-largest globally, with an annual revenue posting 1.2 trillion won and an operating profit of 68.9 billion won in 2021. Since SKC's establishment of the industrial film business unit in 1977, it has been the company's core business.

Based on Hanh & Co.'s vast investment portfolios in local manufacturing businesses, the private equity firm is expected to make attempts to raise the acquired film company's corporate values and competitiveness, aiming to further build its successful track record of acquiring and transforming Korean businesses.

The SKC film business acquisition is the private equity firm's fourth acquisition completed in Korea since the outbreak of the global pandemic. Hahn & Co acquired Korean Air Catering and Duty Free Service (Korean Air C&D) at around 990 billion won in 2020 and SK Chemical's biofuel operation business at 382 billion won in the same year.

In total, the deal represents the private equity firm's 33rd acquisition in the Korean market since 2010, when the company was established. This brings the firm's accumulated investment standing to over $27 billion, making Hahn & Co. the largest private equity buyout firm in Korea.

"This transaction represents an important milestone in what have been highly volatile M&A markets globally and in Korea. We are excited to further expand SKC's industrial film business globally and catapult the business to the next level of technological excellence and competitiveness," said Scott Sang-won Hahn, CEO of Hahn & Co, said.