This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 10:10 a.m. on Jun. 24, 2026.
As the sale of information and communications infrastructure constructor SK TNS enters the final stage, Alchemist, the private equity fund (PEF) manager that is a major shareholder of SK TNS, has reportedly demanded tens of billions of won in deposits from both parties selected as multiple preferred bidders. It asked for deposits even without granting exclusive preferred negotiation rights to any one party. Industry officials say this case is quite unusual by the standards of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) practice.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 24th, Alchemist around the 16th selected the Pantech C&I–EGIS Investment Partners consortium and KCA Partners as preferred bidders for the sale of SK TNS. Alchemist then reportedly asked both sides to pay a performance bond of 5 billion won each.
It is not uncommon in M&A to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) after selecting a preferred bidder and take a deposit as a form of down payment. However, in this case, multiple candidates were chosen as preferred bidders and asked to prepay tens of billions of won in cash before signing the stock purchase agreement (SPA), making it a very rare example.
Analysts say Alchemist's demand to both sides stems from concern that the deal could collapse. Alchemist has faced considerable pressure on the sale process as internal and external negatives piled up, including a special tax audit by the National Tax Service, internal management changes, and fund maturities coming due.
An IB industry source said, "If the SK TNS sale also falls through under these circumstances, it may be difficult to expect limited partners (LPs) to commit to funds going forward," adding, "It could deal a fatal blow to the house's ability to operate." In fact, some LPs recently were said to have pressed Alchemist to swiftly select a candidate that can conclusively close the transaction.
The industry views this move as a gambit to secure deal certainty. By requiring a 5 billion won prepayment, the seller aims to weed out "dummy" candidates with weak closing certainty and verify bidders' practical cash mobilization capacity. While the deposit will be returned to the losing bidder, the final buyer is expected to have a large sum tied up until the deal closes.
The problem is that this approach is causing considerable fatigue for bidders. Candidates who are not guaranteed exclusive negotiating rights have no choice but to express dissatisfaction over having to tie up significant liquidity.
Industry sources expect the sell-side to soon select a single final candidate and sign the SPA. In the market, the sale price of SK TNS is mentioned as the high-300 billion won to 400 billion won range.
Pantech C&I is a company in which Chairman Park Byung-yeop, the founder of Pantech, is the largest shareholder. It provides integrated management services for IT systems. As of the end of last year on a consolidation basis, current assets were 154.9 billion won, while last year's consolidated revenue was 580.6 billion won and consolidated operating profit was 27.5 billion won.
KCA Partners is an institution-only private equity manager established in 2019. It is led by CEO Kwon Il-hwan, formerly of McKinsey and Qualcomm Ventures. It has mainly invested in technology corporations such as Rebellions, SungEel HiTech, and ALMAC.