This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:26 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2025.
SK Group has set the main bid for the sale of minority stakes in SK Multi Utility (SK MU) and Ulsan GPS for early January next year. Three parties—IMM Investment·IMM Credit & Solution (ICS), STIC Alternative·Korea Investment Private Equity (PE), and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR)—are competing, and all acquisition candidates are showing strong resolve for this investment.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 19th, SK Group plans to close the main bid for the sale of minority stakes in SK MU·Ulsan GPS on Jan. 7 next year. Potential buyers are expected to complete buyer due diligence by the end of this month and present specific terms, including price and transaction structure. The industry initially expected the sell-side to finish due diligence and the main bid within a month and sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) within the year, but the schedule has been delayed somewhat and pushed to next year.
This transaction is a relatively simple structure in which an investor acquires a minority stake in the form of common shares. The industry believes that all three shortlisted qualified bidders from the preliminary bid—IMM Investment·ICS, STIC Alternative·Hanwha Investment & Securities PE, and KKR—met SK Group's price expectations. Despite the absence of safeguards to protect the downside, they all reportedly offered prices exceeding 1 trillion won.
In this transaction, SK Group is said to have provided no downside protection for financial investors (FI), such as a Q-IPO, put option, or drag-along right. From an investor's perspective, it means they must seek their own exit strategy later. In addition, SK MU has project financing (PF) exceeding 1 trillion won in the first-priority tranche, pushing FI acquisition financing to a subordinated position.
The market is paying attention to the fact that IMM Investment has been investing aggressively lately. IMM Investment recently beat overseas houses such as Macquarie Asset Management and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to secure the acquisition of a 50% equity stake in the Boryung LNG Terminal.
IMM Investment, teaming up with KB Balhae Infrastructure at the time, offered the highest price, and financed part of the acquisition cost with a blind fund and part with a project fund. The project fund is still being formed, and at the stage of submitting a letter of commitment (LOC), NH Investment & Securities and Kiwoom Securities, the arrangers of the acquisition financing, provided a bridge loan. It is a somewhat aggressive approach of securing equity after being selected as the preferred bidder.
STIC Alternative·Hanwha Investment & Securities PE, which reportedly offered the highest price in the preliminary bid, is also considered a dark horse. Although the amounts among candidates could be overturned in the main bid, the market sees the STIC consortium as showing strong determination for this transaction. However, since STIC Alternative does not have a separate blind fund, it is considered to lack deal certainty compared with IMM Investment and KKR.
KKR is receiving high marks for deal certainty, as it can raise funds in the trillion-won range solely through its own blind fund and acquisition financing. In particular, as it has also sent a love call for SK Group's Ulsan artificial intelligence (AI) data center equity sale, there is speculation it could acquire it as a package together with equity in SK MU·Ulsan GPS, which supply power to the data center.