This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site on Jun. 23, 2026, at 4:05 p.m.
KOSDAQ-listed INNOAX made roughly double its money about a year after investing in AI specialist AgileSoDA. The company originally made a strategic investment to expand its business and even incorporated it as an affiliate, but sold part of its equity as NongHyup Bank moved to acquire AgileSoDA. The company said it plans to maintain its business partnership with AgileSoDA regardless of the equity sale.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 23rd, INNOAX on the 22nd signed a contract with NongHyup Bank to sell 952,925 shares of AgileSoDA for 6.7 billion won. It recouped part of its investment about one year after making the investment in July last year.
In July last year, INNOAX invested a total of 8 billion won in AgileSoDA, including 5 billion won in convertible bonds (CB) and 3 billion won in existing shares. That investment led AgileSoDA to be incorporated as an affiliate of INNOAX, followed by financial support including lending. INNOAX's plan was to make a strategic investment in AgileSoDA, which has an agentic AI platform, to strengthen technology and expand its services business.
However, with NongHyup Bank unexpectedly emerging as the acquirer of AgileSoDA, the move delivered results more on the investment return side than on business expansion. NongHyup Bank is pushing to acquire AgileSoDA and incorporate it as a subsidiary to build a stable AI development structure. To make AgileSoDA a subsidiary, it needs to secure more than 50% equity, making the equity held by INNOAX necessary.
An INNOAX official said, "As NongHyup Bank decided to incorporate AgileSoDA as a subsidiary, the sale was carried out to cooperate in securing the necessary equity," adding, "INNOAX still remains a major shareholder of AgileSoDA, and there will be no change in the business partnership."
INNOAX sold about 83% of the roughly 1.14 million AgileSoDA shares it invested in last year, booking an estimated profit of about 4 billion won. Considering the purchase price, it effectively achieved a twofold gain in one year.
Factoring in the value of the CB investment, the realizable investment revenue is expected to increase further. The conversion price of INNOAX's AgileSoDA CB is 5,247 won, about 20% cheaper than the roughly 7,000 won per-share price in this sale of existing shares. This sets the stage for acquiring additional AgileSoDA equity on favorable terms.
However, as NongHyup Bank pushes to incorporate AgileSoDA as a subsidiary, an exit via an initial public offering (IPO) appears unlikely. When investing in AgileSoDA's CB, INNOAX attached a condition guaranteeing an 8% early redemption yield if an IPO did not succeed within two years or if additional investment was not secured. That condition has been resolved as AgileSoDA attracted investment from NongHyup Bank.
INNOAX is also seen as highly likely to convert the CB into shares for future business cooperation. Excluding the CB holdings, INNOAX's equity in AgileSoDA remains at about 2%. An INNOAX official said, "No plan has been decided yet regarding the CB."