SK Securities is selling its affiliate asset management company, Trinity Asset Management, to Sh Suhyup Bank. Sh Suhyup Bank has been pursuing the acquisition of non-banking affiliates, including asset management companies and capital firms, to establish a financial holding company.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 8th, Sh Suhyup Bank is expected to hold a board meeting as early as this week to finalize the acquisition of management rights for Trinity Asset Management. Trinity Asset Management is the firm that SK Securities acquired 70% of the equity for 10 billion won in 2020.
The sale price is reported to be in the range of 20 billion won. However, it has not been disclosed whether this amount refers to the value of the 70% equity or the total corporate value. Trinity Asset Management is managing approximately 156.9 billion won in total assets as of the end of June this year, through professional private equity, institutional, and individual discretionary management, as well as wrap consulting.
The acquisition of Trinity Asset Management by SK Securities is an M&A led by Kim Shin, the former vice chairman of SK Securities. He joined SK Securities as a representative in 2014 and left last year to take the position of vice chairman at its subsidiary, SKS Private Equity, a private equity firm.
Suhyup Bank set a long-term goal of transitioning into a financial holding company by 2030 at the end of 2022. To establish a financial holding company centered around Suhyup Bank, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives must secure at least one subsidiary according to the Financial Holding Company Act, but since Suhyup Bank has no subsidiaries, M&A is essential.
Last November, the new head of Suhyup Bank took office, which seems to have accelerated the acquisition process. In his New Year's speech this year, he noted, "We will successfully complete the acquisition of non-banking financial companies."