Global private equity fund (PEF) manager Bain Capital secured 91% equity in advertising agency ECHOMARKETING.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 27th, Bain Capital conducted a second tender offer for ECHOMARKETING shares for about one month from Jan. 26 to the 25th of this month, acquiring an additional 2,725,752 shares.
With the first tender offer in January, Bain Capital acquired 10,696,106 common shares of ECHOMARKETING and, including the shares held by founder and largest shareholder Chief Executive Kim Cheol-ung and the employee stock ownership association, secured a total of 91% equity.
Earlier, at the end of last year, Bain Capital began the acquisition of ECHOMARKETING. After signing a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with Kim, it launched a tender offer from the 2nd for the remaining 56.39% equity of ECHOMARKETING.
ECHOMARKETING is an online advertising agency and has the activewear fashion brand "Andar" as a subsidiary. Bain Capital was said to have pursued the acquisition after highly valuing Andar's potential for global expansion.
Bain Capital is expected to proceed toward delisting by using schemes such as a comprehensive share exchange. When it filed the first tender offer in January, it had already signaled a delisting.
Meanwhile, a comprehensive share exchange is a procedure under the Commercial Act, in which, following a special resolution at a shareholders meeting, the shares of minority shareholders are exchanged for the shares of the company that becomes the wholly owning parent company, and a cash-settled share exchange is also possible.