This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 12:58 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2026.
Former OURHOME Chair Ku Mihyeon has moved to acquire the KOSDAQ-listed Bonne(226340). Bonne, which had been pushed to the brink of delisting amid prolonged share-price weakness, is expected to avoid the delisting threat as its stock jumped on market interest following the sale of management control. Attention is also focusing on the next steps of former Chair Ku, who is returning to the forefront of corporate management about a year after selling OURHOME.
According to investment banks (IB) and the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 3rd, former OURHOME Chair Ku Mihyeon of the broader LG family will acquire management control of Bonne.
Former CEO Lim Sung-gi, Bonne's largest shareholder, and related parties signed a contract to sell management control with the former chair on the 31st of last month. They plan to sell all of their roughly 37% equity in Bonne for about 14 billion won. The sale price is 4,427 won per share. Considering the stock traded around 1,500 won before the disclosure of the control sale, a threefold control premium was set. If payment is made on the 10th of next month, the former chair will become Bonne's largest shareholder.
In addition to purchasing existing shares, the former chair left room to secure additional equity by buying an extra 10 billion won in convertible bonds (CB). The CB conversion price is around 1,300 won, and if the entire equity is converted into shares, it is expected that additional equity equivalent to 46% of the currently issued shares could be secured.
With this acquisition of Bonne, the former chair is returning to the forefront of corporate management. As the battle for management control intensified at the catering company OURHOME, which she and her family owned, the former chair took the helm and moved to the front line of management. Then last year, she sold all the equity she held together with her older brother, former OURHOME Vice Chair Koo Bon-sung, to Hanwha Hotels & Resorts. The sale proceeds totaled about 870 billion won, and the former chair is estimated to have secured several hundred billion won in funds from the OURHOME sale.
Bonne is expected to first escape the delisting risk through this sale of management control. Specializing in cosmetics original equipment manufacturing (OEM), Bonne has recently fallen short of the 20 billion won market capitalization threshold due to weak shares. Bonne posted an operating loss of 8.3 billion won last year and an operating loss of about 2.1 billion won in the first quarter of this year. As a result, cash and cash equivalents dropped to around 5.4 billion won in the first quarter, raising liquidity risks.
Bonne's stock once traded in the 20,000-won range in 2024, but continued earnings deterioration and share-price weakness left it hovering in the 1,000-won range recently. However, after news of the sale of management control, it hit the daily upper limit for two straight sessions, with the current share price at 2,180 won and market capitalization expanding to 18.3 billion won. Additional share-price gains and a rights offering could resolve the grounds for delisting.
Alongside the former chair's purchase of existing shares and CB investment, Bonne raised cash by issuing an additional 10 billion won in CBs and conducting a third-party rights offering of 2 billion won. It appears the company intends to use the funds to strengthen its existing cosmetics business and open a path forward.
Some also raise the possibility of additional M&A starting with Bonne by the former chair. An industry official said, "Given that this is the former chair's first move in the capital market about a year after selling OURHOME, acquiring the small-cap listed company Bonne is unlikely to be the final goal," adding, "It is also worth watching what follows the Bonne acquisition."