This article was published on Oct. 22, 2025, at 11:43 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Since global private equity firm Blackstone acquired control of hair salon franchise Junohair, the industry has been busy looking for a "second Junohair." Global private equity firms are focusing on finding hair salon franchise listings in Korea.
On Oct. 22, people in the investment banking (IB) industry said global private equity firms have been asking consulting firms or accounting firms to list hair salon franchise corporations that might be for sale.
This movement gathered pace after Blackstone's acquisition of Junohair. Recently, Blackstone acquired control of Junohair for about 560 billion won (enterprise value 800 billion won). This is the first time a private equity firm has acquired a hair salon franchise.
The reason global private equity firms are paying attention to hair salon listings is interpreted as the belief that beauty services established in Korea can succeed if transplanted overseas. Their strategy is to accept paying somewhat higher prices to secure more multiples through overseas expansion.
In fact, Junohair's enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) was formed at more than 20 times. Even after subtracting the book value of held real estate of 200 billion won, it was valued at more than 13 times last year's EBITDA of 37 billion won.
The recent global attention to Korean culture, such as music, cosmetics, food and content, also appears to have positively influenced investment decisions.
A person in the IB industry said, "Hair salon franchises must ultimately be able to take the brand overseas and succeed, so it is not easy for domestic managers to acquire them," and added, "If they establish themselves overseas, they can get multiples several times higher, so from the standpoint of global private equity firms it is worth a try."
There is an expectation that the number of salon founders seeking to sell will increase after seeing Junohair's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) case. Another person in the IB industry explained, "Even founders who had not thought about selling may be tempted after seeing Junohair sell for a high price."
Junohair was founded in 1982 and is a hair salon franchise that operates more than 180 branches nationwide. It is expanding its business to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines, and is also cooperating with franchise partners in Japan and Thailand. Founder Kang Yun-seon, CEO of Junohair, will remain with the company and continue to manage it after the sale.