This article was published on Jan. 26, 2025, at 9:44 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove website.
Private equity firm STIC Investments will acquire Seoul Airport Limousine from SK Group's subsidiary Tmap Mobility. The acquisition amount has been set at 58 billion won.
SK wanted to sell the 'Airport Limousine' it acquired along with Seoul Airport Limousine as a package; however, this did not materialize. Industry insiders interpret that, unlike Seoul Airport Limousine, which covers most routes connecting the business district of Gangnam with major commercial areas, Airport Limousine routes passing through Gangnam do not have much appeal, making it less attractive for STIC. Furthermore, the fact that the shares of Airport Limousine offered for sale are minority stakes, not controlling interests, seems to be a factor in its exclusion from this transaction.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, STIC has decided to acquire 100% equity of Seoul Airport Limousine for 58 billion won, and plans to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) as early as the end of February.
Tmap Mobility previously acquired 100% equity of Seoul Airport Limousine for 65 billion won and 40% equity of Airport Limousine for 53.1 billion won in 2022. Although both companies were in the red during the COVID-19 pandemic, they turned profitable the following year as demand for airport buses surged. In 2023, Seoul Airport Limousine's revenue and operating profit were 23.12 billion won and 660 million won, respectively. During the same period, Airport Limousine reported revenue and operating profit of 61.7 billion won and 1.95 billion won.
This time, the sale price of Seoul Airport Limousine does not reach the price Tmap Mobility paid (65 billion won). However, it is known that if dividends are received, they will recover a little over 60 billion won in addition to the sale price (58 billion won). Last year, they also received dividends in the range of 2 billion to 3 billion won.
STIC plans to utilize both blind funds and project funds for the acquisition of Seoul Airport Limousine. They are currently recruiting limited partners (LP) for the project fund.
There have been discussions in the industry that Tmap Mobility would sell not only Seoul Airport Limousine but also shares of Airport Limousine. Once they sell only Seoul Airport Limousine this time, the asset value of Airport Limousine's equity is bound to decrease. Moreover, Tmap only holds a 40% equity stake in Airport Limousine, making them the second-largest shareholder after founder Kwon Young-chan, who holds 56%. From SK Group's perspective, if they do not sell the Airport Limousine equity together with Seoul Airport Limousine now, it may be difficult to make future plans.
Industry insiders note that it is natural for STIC to only acquire Seoul Airport Limousine. The biggest factor distinguishing the 'marketability' of the two companies is the Gangnam routes.
Seoul Airport Limousine has seven routes that mostly pass through the Gangnam business district and major commercial areas. For instance, route 6006 connects Jamsil Saenae Station and Incheon International Airport, passing through areas such as Samseong-dong COEX and Apgujeong Station. Routes connecting Daechi-dong and the airport pass through Dogok Station, Gangnam Station, Yangjae Station, and Sinnonhyeon Station, while the Yeoksam Station route also passes through Gangnam Station, Gyodae Station, Banpo, and Gangnam Express Bus Terminal.
On the other hand, Airport Limousine has only four routes out of 22 that pass through the Gangnam area. Of those, two routes only pass through residential areas such as Heuksuk-dong and Yeomchang-dong from the Express Bus Terminal and go directly to Incheon Airport.
An IB industry insider said, 'From SK's perspective, it is unavoidable that they feel regret about not being able to sell Airport Limousine together.' They added, 'Nevertheless, after last year's (JS PE's) negotiations for a complete sale fell through, they were in a situation where they needed to recover funds quickly, so there likely were no viable alternatives.'