This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site on Dec. 1, 2025, at 4:37 p.m.
Domestic private equity firm JKL Partners postponed by two months the repayment date for convertible bonds (CBs) of Contentree JoongAng, a unit of JoongAng Media Group. Instead of delaying maturity without changes, it agreed to raise the interest rate. Under the revised contract, Contentree JoongAng must repay a total of 114.2 billion won to JKL by Jan. 2026.
According to the investment banking industry, on Nov. 28 JKL and Contentree JoongAng agreed to raise the maturity interest rate on 80 billion won worth of CBs from 7.58% to 7.84%. The maturity originally scheduled for the 28th was postponed to Jan. 30, 2026.
Contentree JoongAng is JoongAng Group's content production and distribution company. It is listed on the Korea Exchange, and JoongAng P&I holds 38.63% of its equity as the largest shareholder. The combined equity of the major shareholders and related parties is 42.24%. Its subsidiaries include SLL JoongAng, a content production specialist (53.82% equity), and Megabox JoongAng, which operates movie theaters (95.98%).
JKL Partners invested 100 billion won in Contentree JoongAng (then Jcontentree) in April 2021 in the form of CBs. The initial interest rate was a 0% coupon and 0% maturity interest. Expecting the stock price to rise, it planned to convert the CBs into common shares later and sell them to realize gains.
After JKL's investment, Contentree JoongAng's stock once rose dramatically. JKL's CB conversion price was 46,777 won, and by the end of Nov. that year the stock rose to 85,900 won. The huge global success of dramas such as D.P. and Hell, produced by its affiliated studio and aired on Netflix, played a major role.
However, Contentree JoongAng's stock subsequently declined, and JKL's exit plans began to stall. The stock was in the 20,000 won range in 2023 and fell to the 8,000 won range in 2024. It rebounded to the 13,000 won range at one point in July this year, offering some hope, but then fell again and now remains in the mid-9,000 won range.
Even with refixing, JKL's CB has a minimum adjusted price of 32,744 won, making conversion practically impossible.
Therefore, JKL received 20 billion won of the 100 billion won last Dec. first, and in April this year adjusted the maturity interest rate on the remaining 80 billion won from 0% to 7.33%. In June, it moved the repayment deadline up by six months from May next year to Nov. 28 this year and further raised the maturity interest rate to 7.582%.
As the maturity approached under these circumstances, JoongAng Group appears to have tried to raise funds to make the repayment. On Nov. 27, it received a new capital loan from INVENI (formerly Yesco Holdings), an LS Group affiliate, with an 8% interest rate and a limit of $16 million. However, because it still had to continue supporting its subsidiary Megabox financially, it was difficult to make principal and interest payments to JKL, so it ultimately raised the interest rate once more and extended the deadline by two months.
If JKL is repaid the CB within the extended period, its recovered amount is estimated at 134.2 billion won. However, because the investment period will be long, the internal rate of return (IRR) is expected to be in the mid-6% range.