The private equity fund (PEF) management company IMM Private Equity (PE) has concluded its investment in Woori Financial Group, nine years after purchasing its equity in 2016.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 20th, IMM PE sold all of its 1.38% equity stake it had held since the end of last year through early this year. The funds recovered from this sale amount to 166.4 billion won. Previously, IMM PE sold 1.72% (195 billion won) in March last year and 2.3% (264 billion won) in July. With this sale, it has fully recovered its investment after approximately nine years since acquiring the equity in 2016.
This sale is due to the fund's maturity. IMM PE acquired a 6% stake owned by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation for 446.2 billion won during the privatization of Woori Financial Group in 2016. The IMM Rose Gold No. 3 PEF and IMM Novus No. 1 and No. 2 Co-invest PEF conducted the purchase through Novus No. 1 SPC.
The industry reports that IMM PE has achieved investment profits of 360 billion won by combining capital gains and dividends. This is 2.4 times the original investment amount, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 13.9%.
Additionally, changes in the governance structure of Woori Financial Group are expected following the sale of equity. The recommendation rights for outside directors, previously granted only to major shareholders, will change as the representative of IMM Investment, Jeong-Seong Bae, is set to step down as an outside director at the end of his term in March. Following this year's shareholders' meeting, the composition of outside directors is expected to shift to four from major shareholders and two external hires.