Hillhouse Investment, a Singapore-based private equity fund (PEF) manager, has been chosen as the preferred buyer candidate for IGIS Asset Management, Korea's largest real estate asset manager. After the main bid, price competition pushed the acquisition price up to 1.1 trillion won, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of next year following a review of eligibility for a major shareholder by financial authorities.
According to the investment banking industry, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which are handling the sale of IGIS, selected Hillhouse as the preferred negotiating partner on the 8th. Hillhouse is said to have raised the acquisition price from the mid-900 billion won range to 1.1 trillion won through a "progressive deal," in which additional competition among potential candidates took place after the main bid.
Hanwha Life, which took part in the bidding, offered the mid-900 billion won range, and Heungkuk Life proposed about 1.05 trillion won. With the preferred bidder selected, a fitness review by financial authorities will proceed, and if approved, remaining payment and other procedures are expected to be completed in the first half of next year.
Hillhouse Investment is a major regional PEF that has invested in SK On and SK Ecoplant, and this acquisition will be led by Samty AMC, an affiliate of Hillhouse. Samty AMC is the asset management arm of Samty Holdings, which has focused on residential and hotel development in Japan, and Samty Holdings was acquired by Rava Partners, a real asset investment specialist spun off by Hillhouse in 2020.