This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:07 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2026.
Shinhan Investment & Securities and Hana Securities sold SeoJin System shares they had taken on after extending a bridge loan, securing more than 110 billion won. The recent sharp rise in SeoJin System's share price is seen as the backdrop for the sale. Bridge-loan purpose equity is typically transferred to a third party, so choosing on-exchange sales is unusual.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 20th, Shinhan Investment & Securities and Hana Securities, through a special-purpose company (SPC), each left only 3,543,913 shares of SeoJin System (an equity stake of 5.89%) and sold the remaining equity on the market in two rounds. In aggregate terms, they dumped about 5.62 percentage points on the market.
The two securities firms sold 833,824 shares each at 35,518 won per share on the 30th of last month, and 800,000 shares each at 33,297 won per share on the 9th of this month. On a combined basis, they offloaded about 3.26 million shares, worth about 112.5 billion won, in the market. They sold above the average acquisition cost (about 29,000 won), booking about 15 billion won in profit.
On the 26th of last month, they each acquired 5,177,737 shares of SeoJin System from private equity fund (PEF) managers Crescendo Equity Partners and SKS Private Equity (PE) and from Jeon Dong-gyu, the SeoJin System CEO. It was a bridge loan intended to buy Jeon time to find a new financial investor (FI).
Jeon had been under pressure from Crescendo and SKS PE to resolve a put option (right to sell shares). That is because SeoJin System attracted a 350 billion won investment from the two PEF managers in 2024 and Jeon signed a put option contract.
If Crescendo and SKS PE exercised the put option, Jeon would have had to buy about 9 million SeoJin System shares at 32,000 won per share. Although the deadline to exercise the put option arrived in June last year, Jeon struggled to raise funds, and Shinhan Investment & Securities and Hana Securities stepped in as relief pitchers.
The two securities firms moved to exit early because SeoJin System's share price climbed steeply. From about 25,000 won early this year, the stock recently surged nearly 50% to the 37,000–38,000 won range. On expectations of improved earnings, shares jumped further after news early this month that U.S. subsidiary SeoJin Global signed an ESS supply contract worth about 2 trillion won with SK On.
The two securities firms bought the Crescendo and SKS PE holdings at 32,000 won per share, and Jeon Dong-gyu's holdings at 28,738 won per share. They received the call option-targeted volume at 24,934 won per share. Weighted on this basis, the average acquisition price is estimated at about 29,000 won per share.
Typically, bridge-loan equity is recovered by finding a new investor and transferring it all at once through a block deal (after-hours bulk trade). But in SeoJin System's case, the share price rose so quickly in a short period that there was no need. If the stock's upward momentum continues, some expect they may even sell the entire stake on the market.
SeoJin System is a KOSDAQ-listed company that produces energy storage system (ESS) parts and semiconductor equipment parts. Its customers include major domestic and overseas battery and ESS companies such as Samsung SDI, SK On, and Fluence, and it has grown into a global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company with large-scale production facilities in Vietnam and Texas in the United States. As of the day, its market capitalization is around 2.18 trillion won.