This article was published on ChosunBiz MoneyMove at 11:15 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2025.
SK is selling its management rights equity in SMCore, a logistics automation corporation listed on the KOSDAQ, to M2I, a smart factory solution corporation. The largest shareholder of M2I, domestic private equity fund operator Notik Investment and PTA Equity Partners, plans to enhance competitiveness through a bolt-on strategy, acquiring similar companies.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 1st, SK, the largest shareholder of SMCore, plans to sell 4.36 million shares (21.11% equity) to M2I on the 16th. The price per share is 5,580 won, totaling 23.6 billion won. After the transaction is completed, M2I will become the largest shareholder of SMCore. This contract includes SK's put option and M2I's call option. They signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) based on the change of major shareholders on May 30.
SK acquired management rights in SMCore, a smart factory logistics automation solution specialist, in 2017. At that time, it made an investment of 34.5 billion won through a third party allocation of new shares to become the largest shareholder. Last year's revenue decreased by 6.07% year-on-year to 163.2 billion won, while operating profit turned from a loss of 18.8 billion won to a profit of 7.1 billion won.
Founded in 1999, M2I is a smart factory solution company stemming from the control device laboratory of LG Industrial Systems (now LS ELECTRIC). It entered the smart factory solution business in 2016, and in 2018, venture capital firm Comus Investment acquired 100% of the stake of founder Kim Jung-ryul for about 50 billion won. Subsequently, M2I was listed on the KOSDAQ market in July 2020.
Notik Investment and the PTA Equity Consortium acquired M2I in 2023. At that time, aside from a small amount of unspent funds from Notik's blind fund, the consortium had to raise most of the funds through project financing. Nevertheless, thanks to institutional investors who highly evaluated the growth potential of the smart factory market, they succeeded in funding, with Comus Investment purchasing around 57% equity. M2I's revenue last year increased by 11.42% year-on-year to 36.8 billion won, and net profit rose by 0.53% to 6.4 billion won.
Notik is a private equity fund operator established by CEO Kim Sung-yong in 2018, and it recently acquired Time Education, which operates famous academy brands like Soma Math. PTA Equity is led by CEO Kim Seok-won, who previously worked as a member of the founding team at the robo-advisor startup Pounce, after passing through law firm Yoon & Yang LLC. Last year, it competed with large private equity and securities firms to acquire 'Korea Fund Partners (formerly Mirae Asset Fund Services)' from Mirae Asset Consulting. Kim Sung-yong from Notik and Song Jong-hyun from PTA Equity currently serve as inside directors of M2I.
Through this acquisition, M2I plans to combine SMCore's logistics automation technology to create a smart platform that integrates manufacturing, logistics, and data. In particular, M2I is pushing ahead with its robotics business, including recently signing an expert partnership with ABB, and is expected to gain momentum by combining with SMCore's know-how. SMCore possesses technology related to automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and gantry robots (robots that assist in moving and attaching/detaching products).
The industry expects that SK will maintain a strategic collaboration with M2I after this transaction, as it has kept a minority equity stake. Currently, SK holds a 26.60% equity stake, which will be reduced to 5.49% after the sale. An industry source noted, "Since SMCore has secured contracts with SK hynix and SK On, subsidiaries of SK Group, it is expected to participate in SK-related projects in the future," adding, "I understand M2I is considering a new investment of about 10 billion won in SMCore."