Theborn Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won, denied rumors of acquiring Norang Tongdak.
On the 3rd, Theborn Korea stated, "We held a meeting at the request of the advisory firm regarding the sale of Yellow Food (the company name for Norang Tongdak) and received introduction materials, but the discussions were halted without further progress," adding, "We have no intention of acquiring."
Previously, some media outlets reported that Theborn Korea was considering acquiring Yellow Food, the operator of the chicken franchise "Norang Tongdak," for about 200 billion won.
Theborn Korea's consideration of mergers and acquisitions as part of its growth strategy became the trigger for the speculation. In November of last year, Theborn Korea went public and allocated more than 90% of its public offering funds for the acquisition of securities from other companies.
In particular, Theborn Korea reportedly stated that it would utilize 80 billion won for acquiring equity in specialized food companies and 13.5 billion won for acquiring equity in food tech-related companies.
However, Theborn Korea is said to be currently reviewing acquisitions or collaborations with food companies, including soy sauce manufacturers and automation equipment companies.
Meanwhile, private equity fund management firms Costone Asia and Q Capital Partners are proceeding with the sale process, having selected Samjong KPMG as the advisory firm to sell 100% equity of Norang Tongdak.
Founded in Busan in 2009, Norang Tongdak recorded sales of 106.7 billion won and an operating profit of 12.7 billion won last year.