This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 7:10 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2026.
As cases of staff from large private equity funds (PEF) going independent increase, those who were called "key men" at the Hong Kong-based PEF manager Anchor Equity Partners (Anchor PE) are said to have also gone independent and established new PEF firms.
On the 12th, sources in the investment banking (IB) industry said that executive director Lee Gwi-hyun, who left Anchor PE this month, founded D&Sir Partners with managing director Yoo Hyun-seok. D&Sir Partners, which has set up its base in Yeoksam, Seoul, is said to operate in the domestic market focusing on mid-cap buyouts and structured credit strategies.
The two founders were core personnel at Anchor PE. Lee, a certified public accountant (CPA), handled M&A advisory work at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) from 2008 and joined Anchor PE in October 2017. Yoo also came from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) and worked at global asset managers such as Intermediate Capital Group (ICG).
Anchor PE has experienced a string of departures among its core deal staff. Last year, director Ji Min-kyu and founding member Vice President Wi Se-uk also expressed their intent to resign. Vice President Wi founded Anchor PE in 2012 with CEOs Ahn Sang-gyun and Byun Seong-yun and subsequently led key domestic investments.
Recently, it has become common not only for people to leave Anchor PE but also for staff to go independent from large houses. Godo Partners, founded by Lee Jung-woo from Bain Capital and Lee Jin-ha from MBK Partners, is a representative example. Executive director Yoon Joo-hwan of IMM Credit & Solutions also left the firm and founded Zenith Peak.