This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:52 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2026.
Private equity fund (PEF) managers who had faced massive loss risks from investing in EcoPro BM convertible bonds (CB) have finally entered profit territory recently. Shares have surged on the "battery for robots" theme despite stagnant demand for electric vehicles. Paper losses that once exceeded 60% swung to about a 4% gain in a little over eight months.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 27th, the assessed value of EcoPro BM CBs held by domestic PEF managers Skylake Equity Partners, IMM Investment, Premier Partners, and SKS Private Equity was about 455 billion won at the day's close, up about 3.5% from the 440 billion won principal.
Back in July 2023, these PEF managers acquired 440 billion won worth of EcoPro BM CBs. Expecting further growth in the EV industry at the time, they set the coupon rate at 0% and valued the company at 27 trillion won, higher than its market capitalization, adding a 10% premium to the initial conversion price over the reference share price.
The high-valuation bet turned toxic as the slowdown from the EV chasm (demand stagnation) dragged on. After first-quarter results last year showed sales and operating profit down 35% and 66%, respectively, on lower sales prices for its core cathode materials for batteries, EcoPro BM shares fell to around 80,000 won per share.
Despite a series of conversion price resets, valuation losses at PEF managers such as Skylake, IMM Investment, and Premier Partners continued. The initial 275,000 won was adjusted to the floor of 206,250 won in Aug. 2024, but when the share price fell to around 81,000 won in May, paper losses topped 60%.
Because CBs are debt, investors can demand repayment of principal, but the problem is that secondary-battery corporations, including EcoPro BM, lack ample liquidity. As a result, there was widespread pessimism that PEF managers would find it difficult to exit.
The reversal came recently with the robot theme, as secondary batteries drew attention as a core component for robots. In particular, as views spread that high-nickel cathode materials are essential to meet the high power and high density specs required by Humanoid Robot, investor interest converged on EcoPro BM, a cathode-specialized company.
EcoPro BM shares, which were 145,000 won per share early this year, climbed steeply after Hyundai Motor unveiled the Humanoid Robot Atlas. Expectations for government policy support for the KOSDAQ market added fuel, and EcoPro BM shares jumped more than 20% just the previous day, ending above the conversion price floor.
With EcoPro BM shares surpassing the conversion price, PEF managers such as Skylake Equity Partners, IMM Investment, and Premier Partners can now review strategies for converting to common shares and recouping their investments. Although the conversion request window opened in July 2024, the share price had lagged expectations, so there had naturally been no conversions to common stock until now.
An IB industry source said, "There had been an assessment that the battery sector alone had limited room for a share-price recovery, but tying in with the robot theme halted the downtrend and led to a rebound," adding, "Investors are likely to weigh the timing of an exit while watching how concretely robot-related businesses take shape and how the share price moves."