Global private equity fund manager Bain Capital secured about 81% equity through a tender offer for ECHOMARKETING.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 23rd, Bain Capital carried out a tender offer for ECHOMARKETING shares from the 2nd to the 21st and acquired 10,696,106 common shares.
Including the shares held by founder and largest shareholder Kim Cheol-woong that were scheduled to be acquired and the employee stock ownership association's equity, Bain Capital's stake in ECHOMARKETING is calculated to be about 81%.
Bain Capital began the acquisition of ECHOMARKETING late last year. After signing a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with Kim, it launched a tender offer on the 2nd for the remaining 56.39% equity in ECHOMARKETING.
ECHOMARKETING is an online advertising agency and has the activewear fashion brand "Andar" as a subsidiary. Bain Capital is said to have pursued the acquisition, giving high marks to Andar's potential for global expansion.
As Bain Capital has secured control stably through the first tender offer alone, the market is placing more weight on the possibility that the process will lead to a delisting.
At the time of the tender offer filing, Bain Capital disclosed a plan to promptly proceed with delisting procedures under relevant laws if it secured a sufficient level of equity.