This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:27 p.m. on July 31, 2026.
VIG Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) manager that has gained the upper hand in the race to acquire aircraft parts maker Yulgok, will team up with KB Kookmin Bank to raise acquisition financing. It has picked KB Kookmin Bank as the lead arranger for acquisition financing and is pursuing a plan to raise up to half of the purchase price.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 31st, VIG Partners recently began talks with KB Kookmin Bank on financing for the Yulgok acquisition. It came about a week after it was selected as the preferred bidder for Yulgok. There is also talk that KB Kookmin Bank could act as the sole arranger and handle the entire acquisition financing.
VIG Partners was earlier chosen as the preferred negotiating party for the Yulgok acquisition on the 21st. Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based PEF manager, and homegrown private equity firm KCGI were also considered strong candidates, but given that this deals with the aviation and defense supply chain, sentiment coalesced around VIG Partners, a domestic manager that owns Eastar Jet Co.
The acquisition targets include part of the 47.09% equity in Yulgok held by the JKL Partners–WJ Private Equity consortium and part of the stake (47.23%) owned by founder and largest shareholder Wi Ho-cheol, Yulgok's CEO, and VIG Partners is widely expected to secure about 70% equity. The purchase price is said to be about 300 billion won.
KB Kookmin Bank is expected to provide about 150 billion won in acquisition financing, roughly half of the Yulgok deal price. Excluding the equity investment VIG Partners will raise through its fifth blind fund and others, the acquisition financing amount may be adjusted depending on the final deal structure.
With the acquisition financing market having contracted since the first half, arranging this Yulgok acquisition financing is expected to be welcome news for KB Kookmin Bank. Recently, acquisition financing rates have climbed to 6%–7% due to factors including policy rate hikes. As a result, many corporations that had been considering refinancing have put plans on hold or delayed them, leading to analysis that the acquisition financing market's transaction drought is dragging on.
An IB industry official said, "KB Kookmin Bank had already been listed as VIG Partners' acquisition financing partner when it took part in Yulgok's main bid," adding, "Instead of forming a syndicate with other financial institutions, it is pushing a plan to take the entire acquisition financing on its own."
Meanwhile, Yulgok is a specialized aircraft parts company headquartered in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, founded in 1990. A key partner of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), it supplies airframe and engine parts and structures to the Boeing and Airbus supply chains, and last year posted 128.9 billion won in consolidated revenue and 14 billion won in operating profit.