British private equity fund (PEF) operator CVC Capital will acquire Serin Company, which operates the Round Lab brand.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 17th, Bank of America (BofA), the sale arranger for Serin Company, recently selected CVC Capital as the preferred bidder. The sale target is the 100% equity stake in Serin Company held by Calypso Capital and Meritz Securities.
Calypso Capital and Meritz Securities are expected to make close to a 3 to 4-fold profit about 1 year and 5 months after acquiring Serin Company for 230 billion won last July. CVC Capital reportedly valued Serin Company at approximately 800 billion won, a figure that considers Serin Company’s revenue last year (115.6 billion won) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 55.7 billion won.
Calypso Capital and Meritz Securities began the sale process in July by selecting BofA as the lead underwriter. Approximately six bidders, including a consortium of Gudai Global and Company K Partners, are known to have participated in the preliminary bidding held in October.
Founded in 2017, Serin Company is a cosmetics manufacturer co-founded by Lee Yong-hak and Jung Seo-rin. Round Lab is a brand famous for its '1025 Dokdo' products. The Dokdo toner, which uses mineral-rich deep seawater from Ulleungdo as a key ingredient, gained popularity through word-of-mouth without major marketing since its launch.
After just two years since the release of the Dokdo toner, the company experienced rapid sales growth after entering Olive Young. Serin Company's sales rose from 36.4 billion won in 2020 to 53 billion won in 2021, 57.2 billion won in 2022, and 115.6 billion won in 2023.