This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:11 p.m. Oct. 24, 2025.
Private equity firm Heimdal Private Equity (Heimdal PE) and Cornerstone Investment Partners (Cornerstone) have stepped in to provide funding to FOOSUNG Group, classified as part of the broader Hyundai-affiliated family. Following a 100 billion won investment in FOOSUNG Global in 2021, they have now decided to make an additional 27 billion won investment in parent company FOOSUNG Co.
According to the investment banking industry on the 24th, Heimdal PE and Cornerstone recently decided on a new 27 billion won investment in FOOSUNG Co. The investment will be made by acquiring convertible bonds (CBs) issued by FOOSUNG Co., with Heimdal PE investing 20 billion won and Cornerstone investing 7 billion won. The funds are scheduled to be paid in on Nov. 5.
The CB terms were set at a five-year maturity, 0% coupon rate and 5.7% maturity interest rate. If held to maturity, the structure is understood to repay about 140% of the investment principal. Conversion can be requested from Nov. 5 next year, one year after payment. The conversion price was set at 6,857 won per share.
FOOSUNG Co. chose to issue CBs with the goal of raising operating funds. The company started as a manufacturer of basic compounds focusing on refrigerants, but as it expanded into battery electrolytes and semiconductor etching gases, its financing burden grew. The company has allocated all proceeds from the CB issuance to operating funds.
Heimdal PE and Cornerstone focused on FOOSUNG Co.'s potential for performance recovery. With demand for secondary batteries recovering amid a data center expansion boom, and the semiconductor specialty gas business expanding in line with a semiconductor supercycle, they judged that a turnaround to consolidated profit this year is possible.
There is also an assessment that Heimdal PE and Cornerstone are making a "strategic continuous investment." Heimdal PE and Cornerstone previously poured funds into FOOSUNG Global, which was spun off from FOOSUNG Co. in April 2021. At that time, the two firms invested a total of 105 billion won on the condition of an initial public offering (IPO) by 2026.
FOOSUNG Global's listing is currently uncertain. FOOSUNG Group selected Daishin Securities Co. and Samsung Securities as the lead underwriters for FOOSUNG Global's listing in 2022 and pushed for a listing the following year, but it was postponed. FOOSUNG Global's weak performance and tougher IPO screening for companies created through physical spinoffs acted as negative factors.
An investment banking industry official said, "FOOSUNG Global's key technologies and raw materials originate from the parent company's fluorochemical processes," and added, "It appears aimed at supporting the parent company's liquidity stability while securing a position as a FOOSUNG Co. shareholder to oversee groupwide matters such as FOOSUNG Global's IPO push."
Meanwhile, FOOSUNG Group was founded when Kim Geun-soo, a nephew of the late honorary Hyundai Group chairman Chung Ju-yung, acquired Korea Refractories in 1980. The group expanded by purchasing Ulsan Chemical and Seoksu Chemical. Currently, the group has FOOSUNG Co., Korea Refractories Co. and FIRSTEC listed as companies under a holding company structure with FOOSUNG Holdings at the top.