This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:52 p.m. on Apr. 03, 2026.
Yunjin Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) manager seeking to acquire KOSDAQ-listed DSK, has run into trouble raising funds. A strategic investor (SI) that had positioned itself as an ally by committing to the fund has withdrawn, dealing a blow. The firm is searching for an alternative investor, but the possibility of the acquisition falling through has emerged.
According to investment banks (IB) on the 3rd, Yunjin Partners recently changed the final payment date for acquiring DSK's management-control equity to June. This is the fourth postponement since the stock purchase agreement for a change of the largest shareholder in Aug. last year, and the initial plan was to make the final payment and close the transaction in Oct. last year.
DSK is a specialized manufacturer of secondary battery and display equipment, and Yunjin Partners, together with Gibro Partners and WH Partners, moved to jointly acquire management-control equity in DSK. The structure involves acquiring 25.4% equity of Synergy Innovation, and the transaction size was set at 82.3 billion won.
Yunjin Partners is said to have pursued the acquisition not only for DSK but also because it placed a high value on Protocs, DSK's bio subsidiary. A company developing botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, Protocs has processes in place from strain acquisition to cultivation and purification, formulation, and packaging.
The departure of the key SI has been a negative. Yunjin Partners had initially secured a general corporation seeking to expand its bio business as a key limited partner in the DSK acquisition project fund. The SI had agreed to shoulder 48.6 billion won, or 60% of the acquisition price, but is said to have withdrawn the investment citing industry uncertainty. In fact, DSK's share price, which topped the 9,000-won range in Jan., has now fallen to around 5,000 won.
Yunjin Partners plans to find an alternative investor and complete the DSK acquisition. The calculation is that if Protocs grows, it could be carved out and sold or listed. The product approval for Protocs' botulinum toxin in Nov. last year is also seen as a positive.
Yunjin Partners, apparently determined to close the deal, has even decided to pay an additional deposit. In addition to the initial 6.7 billion won deposit, it plans to soothe the sell side by paying an additional 5 billion won by the end of Apr. The move is also aimed at buying time to secure alternative investors beyond the existing SI. Because the deposit becomes a sunk expense if the transaction collapses, the firm is effectively going all-in.
One burden is that repeated payment delays have eroded market trust. Typically, a transaction that has seen one withdrawal is recognized in the market as a "red flag," making it even harder to attract new investors. The time left until the final payment date is also short at about two months.
An IB industry source said, "To fill the gap left by the key SI with other investors, more favorable terms must be offered, which ultimately worsens profitability and could even shake existing LPs," adding, "There is growing speculation that Yunjin Partners may fail to overcome the crisis and lose only the deposit."