This article was published on Aug. 13, 2025, at 2:48 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Private equity firm Hahn & Company is selling semiconductor fine ceramic parts manufacturer Solmix one and a half years after its acquisition. This is an unusually fast pace compared to the typical holding period of 4 to 5 years for funds. This is interpreted as a result of achieving the originally set corporate value target ahead of schedule.
On the 13th, according to the investment banking (IB) industry, Hahn & Company has selected TKG Taekwang as the preferred negotiator for the sale of 100% equity of Solmix and is in the final stages of discussions. Hahn & Company acquired SK Enpulse's fine ceramics division for about 330 billion won in February of last year and changed its name to Solmix. The sale price is expected to be in the mid-500 billion won range, which may yield a profit of over 200 billion won. The internal rate of return (IRR) is estimated to be around 34%.
Solmix's performance rapidly improved shortly after Hahn & Company acquired it. Last year, Solmix's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were approximately 40 billion won, doubling compared to around 20 billion won in 2023 before the acquisition. During the same period, sales increased from 167 billion won to 188 billion won, growing by 12%.
The timing of Hahn & Company's acquisition of Solmix coincided with the point when the global semiconductor market hit rock bottom. Following this, the recovery in demand for semiconductors and the subsequent reassessment of semiconductor materials and components also affected Solmix, a supplier of fine ceramic materials. Because fine ceramic materials are essential in the semiconductor manufacturing process, it is analyzed that Solmix benefited directly during the semiconductor market upturn.
The restructuring that began immediately after Hahn & Company's acquisition also effectively contributed to Solmix's growth in scale. When Solmix was under the SK Group, sales were primarily made to SK affiliates, but after Hahn & Company took over, the supply chain expanded to include domestic chip makers and global semiconductor manufacturers such as Intel. It is said that this reduced dependence on specific customers while simultaneously improving both sales scale and profitability. Additionally, it is known that they collaborated with client companies on research and development (R&D) to develop new products and contribute to increasing the domestic production rate of related products.
In the industry, Hahn & Company's sale of Solmix is evaluated as a successful carve-out model. They separated the non-core divisions of large corporations, moved away from the existing group-centered revenue structure, and secured global clients to enhance corporate value.
The background for Hahn & Company accelerating the sale is also aimed at adjusting semiconductor exposure. The fourth fund used for the acquisition of Solmix has continuously invested in semiconductor material companies such as SK Specialty (2.63 trillion won) and SK Enpulse's CMP pad division (334.6 billion won). It is analyzed as a decision for portfolio rebalancing, as an excessively high proportion of a specific industry within the fund could increase risks for fund limited partners (LPs).