Domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager Glenwood Private Equity said on the 3rd that it completed the acquisition of LG CHEM's water solutions business, a joint investment with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth funds Mubadala of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The asset acquired by Glenwood PE and Mubadala is the water-treatment filter business that launched in 2014 as a business unit of LG CHEM. It is launching as an independent corporation under the name NanoH2O. The transaction price is 1.4 trillion won.
Its flagship product is a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane used to desalinate seawater and more. The reverse osmosis method is more energy-efficient than thermal processes and is widely used for large-scale desalination. More than 95% of the company's revenue comes from overseas.
On Jun., LG CHEM announced the sale of the water-treatment filter business as it adjusted its portfolio to focus resources on new growth businesses. About five months later, the transaction was closed.
Mubadala is a sovereign wealth funds with the Abu Dhabi government as a shareholder. It manages a portfolio worth about $330 billion (about 480 trillion won). It decided to invest, noting that NanoH2O can expand its business in the Middle East and North Africa, where water scarcity is severe.
Lee Sang-ho, head of Glenwood PE, said, "The investment in NanoH2O is a case that shows Glenwood's investment philosophy of identifying quality businesses classified as noncore or low-core within large corporations and increasing their value through business unit carve-outs."
Mohamed Al Badr, head of Asia at Mubadala, said, "This investment aligns with Mubadala's strategy of partnering with companies that contribute to solving global problems and demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing across Korea and the broader Asian market."
Founded in 2014, Glenwood PE is a homegrown PEF manager specializing in carve-out investments. It has deployed $3.3 billion (about 4.8 trillion won) to date. It has conducted transactions with a variety of corporations, including SK Group, LG Group, GS Group, Holcim, Saint-Gobain, and Arkema.