This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site on Jan. 29, 2026, at 5:53 p.m.
A KOSDAQ-listed company SeoJin System has seen its second-largest shareholder replaced. Shinhan Investment Corp. and Hana Securities acquired all of the equity held by Crescendo Equity Partners and SKS Private Equity (PE), who had been the previous second-largest shareholders and held a put option, for about 350 billion won, extinguishing an urgent problem.
However, the two securities firms provided funds to buy time for SeoJin System until it could find a new second-largest shareholder. The firms are pursuing a plan to sell the equity they acquired to a third party. It is understood that one private equity fund manager is currently negotiating as a leading potential buyer.
On the 29th, sources in the investment banking (IB) industry said Shinhan Investment Corp. and Hana Securities recently bought a 16% equity stake in SeoJin System held by Crescendo and SKS PE. (Related article ☞SeoJin System resolves put option with help from securities firms... Crescendo, SKS PE recover investments) They also each took half of a 3.51% portion of the 37.36% stake held by major shareholder CEO Jeon Dong-gyu.
SeoJin System is a supplier of components for energy storage systems (ESS) and electric vehicle batteries. Its market capitalization is about 2.1 trillion won.
CEO Jeon earlier signed a put option agreement in April 2024 with existing financial investors Crescendo and SKS PE. The two companies had cumulatively invested 35 billion won in SeoJin System over multiple rounds.
Under the put option agreement, CEO Jeon was to buy about 9 million shares of SeoJin System held by Crescendo and SKS PE at 32,000 won per share. The funds required by CEO Jeon to exercise the put option were estimated at about 300 billion won.
Crescendo and SKS PE were able to exercise the put option starting in June last year, but CEO Jeon faced difficulties raising funds. In that situation, Shinhan Investment Corp. first stepped in as a rescuer, and Hana Securities joined.
The two securities firms effectively provided a bridge loan so CEO Jeon could find a new second-largest shareholder candidate and negotiate stably. It is known they are currently coordinating terms with one private equity fund.
An IB industry official said SeoJin System is a company with a "metal platform" capability that offers one-stop metal processing, framing and assembly used commonly in ESS and semiconductor equipment, and added, "In particular, securing a local production base (Houston) in the U.S. ESS market and long-term supply contracts can reduce customers' supply chain risk, so if orders normalize, utilization rates could improve quickly."