This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:16 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2025.
NH Investment & Securities' standing in the tender offer market, which it has cultivated for years, is collapsing. A senior executive in the investment banking institutional sector is embroiled in allegations of using nonpublic information to obtain improper gains. Because information security is considered paramount in tender offers, there are concerns that future transaction mandates could be disrupted.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service electronic disclosure system, of 15 tender offers conducted this year, 11 chose NH Investment & Securities as the tender offer agent. That amounted to a market share of 73%. The remainder were mandated one each to Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, KB Securities and IBK Securities.
NH Investment & Securities is unlikely to be able to maintain that market share going forward. There are signs that corporations and private equity fund managers are reluctant to choose NH Investment & Securities as tender offer agent. NH Investment & Securities has worked to pioneer the market, including launching the industry's first online tender offer subscription system in Sept. 2023.
In the case of a private equity fund manager that conducted a tender offer through NH Investment & Securities, internal opinion reportedly arose during efforts to pursue an additional tender offer asking, "Shouldn't we replace the agent even now?" However, it was reported that the tender offer proceeded as scheduled because they feared that replacing the agent midstream would draw unnecessary attention.
EQT Partners, the foreign private equity fund manager pushing to acquire Douzone Bizon, has not yet decided whether to proceed with a tender offer. With many variables such as the Fair Trade Commission's merger review of the companies, the tender offer is said to have been deprioritized.
However, industry sources say that if a tender offer had been confirmed during the acquisition effort, NH Investment & Securities, the industry leader, would likely have been appointed. Now, given allegations of using nonpublic information and aggressive outreach by other securities firms, even if a tender offer is decided, it is not clear that NH Investment & Securities would automatically secure the work.
An IB industry official said, "From the perspective of corporations or fund managers conducting tender offers, they cannot help but worry about information leaks," adding, "If investment information leaks to competitors, a difficult situation could unfold." He added, "It's a natural step to consider another securities firm rather than NH, which had issues."
Because NH Investment & Securities used tender offers to open transaction channels and then earned additional revenue through acquisition financing and bridge loans, there is analysis that its future institutional sector profitability could be severely shaken. NH Investment & Securities earned revenue in the 20 billion-won range beyond fees by providing borrowing fund to acquirers in tender offer transactions for Biol, JTC and SK D&D, which it underwrote.
Choosing another securities firm does not necessarily mean lower service quality than NH Investment & Securities. Securities firms that currently have online tender offer subscription systems include Mirae Asset Securities, Samsung Securities, Meritz Securities, KB Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Shinhan Investment Corp. KB Securities and Korea Investment & Securities, which focus on acquisition financing, are expected to reap the most benefits.
NH Investment & Securities is tightening efforts to recover trust following this incident. It has restricted domestic stock trading for executives and formed an internal control task force. It considered expanding the stock trading restrictions to all IB division employees, but it was reported that employee pushback was strong.
At the end of last month, the joint response team to eradicate stock-price manipulation concluded that a senior executive at NH Investment & Securities repeatedly passed nonpublic information related to tender offers to colleagues and acquaintances over the past two years, and that those people used the information to misappropriate about 2 billion won in improper gains, prompting an investigation. The investigative team reports that 51% (28 cases) of tender offers over the past three years were carried out by NH Investment & Securities and that information on 11 issues was leaked.
An NH Investment & Securities representative said, "We are making every effort to strengthen information security and internal controls in the tender offer market," adding, "We are taking every measure to prevent recurrence and restore trust through various internal control measures, including the recent corporate internal control task force and restrictions on executives' domestic stock trading."