This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:43 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2026.
Samjong KPMG has recently been cementing its position in the industry by wrapping up a series of high-difficulty M&A transactions. It is being evaluated as having demonstrated competitiveness by ultimately driving deals that had wavered or faced the risk of collapse due to unforeseen variables after contract signing to the payment (closing) stage.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 20th, Aekyung Group and Taekwang Group reached a final agreement on the transfer of management control of Aekyung Industrial Co. on the 19th.
Aekyung Group had already selected Taekwang Group as the preferred negotiating party in September last year and even signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) in October, accelerating the transaction, but an unforeseen variable emerged ahead of closing. Closing had been scheduled for the 19th, but a conflict arose when Taekwang Group demanded a price cut citing the "2080 toothpaste" recall incident. According to the IB industry, Taekwang Group is said to have maintained the position that the acquisition price should be lowered by more than 50 billion won.
Following the sale of Jungbu Country Club (CC) last year, Samjong, which represented Aekyung in the sale of Aekyung Industrial Co., attempted to conclude negotiations before the Lunar New Year holiday, but the two sides could not narrow their differences. Negotiations that could have dragged on eventually found common ground on the 19th. The transaction has been closed with both parties compromising to lower the sale price by 22.5 billion won.
The sale of DC Inside, for which an SPA was recently signed, is also cited as a deal that was not smooth on the way to fruition. From the outset, many assessed that the transaction was highly complex in structure. Given the nature of an online community, reputation and political risks were discussed, and funding reportedly did not proceed smoothly. Samjong also advised on the sale in this transaction. After selecting H Private Equity (PE) as the preferred bidder in August last year and conducting prolonged negotiations, an SPA was signed earlier this month for about 200 billion won.
The sale of Hyundai IFC, a forging subsidiary of Hyundai Steel, is another case that Samjong led to a conclusion after many twists and turns. Although the Woori PE–Bailey PE consortium was selected as the preferred acquirer in September last year, union opposition later emerged as a variable. In response, Hyundai Steel strengthened the rationale by structuring the deal so that it would reinvest about 20% of the sale proceeds into the fund and remain as a strategic partner, and as a result, it was able to sign a main contract on Jul. 7 last month to transfer all equity for 339.3 billion won.
The sale of Bucket Studio is also classified as a high-difficulty deal. The sale of management control of Bucket Studio began when the largest shareholder put a 37% equity stake up for sale as the risk of delisting grew due to a substantive review of listing eligibility. This deal experienced pains such as replacing the preferred bidder, as variables included the fact that Bucket Studio sits at the top of the governance chain leading to Bithumb through its grandchild companies and the difficulty of raising roughly 240 billion won in acquisition funds.
Ultimately, a consortium led by Fintech company SwitchOne emerged as the new buyer and even signed an SPA at the end of December last year. The deposit has been paid, with 10 billion won in the first tranche followed by 14 billion won in the second.
An IB industry official said, "Samjong is understood to have steered the transaction to the finish by adjusting last-minute variables in various ways, including repricing, persuading stakeholders, and realigning the investor group."