This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:38 p.m. on June 26, 2026.
Private equity fund (PEF) manager Praxis Capital Partner (hereafter Praxis Capital Partner) has moved in earnest to expand branches of 21 Gram, a pet funeral service operator. As part of a so-called "buy and build" strategy after the acquisition, it also recently completed an injection of 30 billion won.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, Praxis Capital Partner recently injected about 30 billion won more into 21 Gram. It was a follow-up execution after the first capital payment at the time of acquiring management control last year, with the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives increasing its commitment to Praxis Capital Partner's fourth blind fund and joining as a co-investor.
Praxis Capital Partner previously acquired control of 21 Gram using its fourth blind fund, which was formed at about 800 billion won last year. As part of an effort to secure the market amid a rising population raising pets, it has invested a total of 80 billion won, with an initial 50 billion won followed by an additional 30 billion won recently.
21 Gram, founded in 2017, provides the full range of funeral procedures after a pet's death. Its capital was about 20 million won at the time of establishment, but has increased to about 600 million won after investment by Praxis Capital Partner. Last year's revenue was 5.2 billion won, with an operating loss of about 3 billion won.
Praxis Capital Partner plans to accelerate branch expansion using the additional paid-in capital. It is buying fragmented pet funeral operators to expand directly run bases; since the acquisition late last year, it has expanded six branches this year alone in Namyangju, Gimpo, Paju, Cheongju, Hwaseong and Sejong.
Pet funeral homes are classified as licensed facilities. Because new setups face restrictions such as location, permits and civil complaints, Praxis Capital Partner chose to acquire existing pet funeral homes and integrate them into a corporate-style system. The plan is to raise both service quality and operating efficiency.
Praxis Capital Partner is also regarded as a house specializing in buy and build. Business-on, a software as a service (SaaS) specialist, is a representative case. After acquiring it in 2019, it successively bought an electronic contract firm and a data analysis firm to scale up Business-on, and sold it in 2024 for 380 billion won (3.1 times the principal).
Praxis Capital Partner is understood to be preparing a plan to acquire and integrate many of the roughly 80 pet funeral homes scattered nationwide to build an advanced corporate-style operating system. The idea is to integrate individually run pet funeral homes to improve service quality and foster the funeral and cremation culture.
A source in the IB industry said, "There are projections that the domestic pet market will expand to around 20 trillion won in the future," adding, "With an increase in pet-owning households and rising funeral demand coinciding, interest in corporate-style operators is growing, which the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives is also said to have rated highly."
Meanwhile, Praxis Capital Partner said, "We are accelerating brand enhancement and base expansion to establish pet funerals as a new culture of parting rather than as a simple service," adding, "21 Gram is a pet funeral specialist corporations that does not engage in businesses other than pet funerals."