Cho Gap-joo, the Director General of new business promotion and the No. 2 shareholder of IGIS Asset Management, will return as CEO after five years. As the sale of management control has been delayed and concerns have grown among limited partners (LPs), the company said the personnel move is intended to restore trust with them.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 27th, IGIS Asset Management plans to appoint Cho as CEO at a board meeting on the 28th.
Cho, the Director General, is the No. 2 shareholder holding about 12% equity in IGIS Asset Management through personal and family companies. From 2014 to 2021 for seven years, Cho served as CEO of IGIS Asset Management; through 2024 served as Director General of new business promotion, and afterward served as senior managing partner (SMP).
An IGIS Asset Management official said, "As the sale of management control was delayed longer than initially expected and noise emerged, Cho intends to take responsibility and return as CEO to restore relationships with LPs."
However, the company drew a line that Cho's return to management does not mean the transfer of management control with Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd. has derailed.
Hillhouse proposed 1.1 trillion won as the acquisition price for IGIS Asset Management at the end of last year and was selected as the preferred negotiating party. However, the signing of the stock purchase agreement (SPA) has not taken place to date. As a result, the industry has raised the possibility that the transaction with Hillhouse could fall through and that Taekwang Group (which proposed 1.05 trillion won), the No. 2 bidder during the main auction, and others may resume acquisition efforts.