This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:08 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2026.
Domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager Curious Partners is pushing a plan to inject 100 billion won into SLL Joongang, which has fallen into a liquidity crisis. The structure would simultaneously provide SLL Joongang's operating funds and repayment resources for acquisition financing by Praxis Capital Partner. Curious Partners is understood to have proposed, as investment conditions, credit enhancement using the personal assets of the JoongAng Group Oner family and senior recovery rights for the new funds.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 9th, Curious Partners recently delivered a term sheet containing investment terms totaling 100 billion won to SLL Joongang and Praxis Capital Partner. Negotiations are underway over whether stakeholders will agree, and no contract has been signed yet.
Of the 100 billion won that Curious Partners would inject, 50 billion won would be provided as new capital to SLL Joongang, and the remaining 50 billion won would be used to acquire existing shares of SLL Joongang held by Praxis Capital Partner. Issuing convertible bonds (CB) by SLL Joongang and having them acquired is being strongly discussed. The payment for the existing shares is expected to flow to Praxis Capital Partner and be used to repay the existing acquisition financing.
Praxis Capital Partner invested 300 billion won in SLL Joongang in 2021 while raising 130 billion won in acquisition financing. Including a 40 billion won revolving credit facility (RCF), the total commitment amounts to 170 billion won. The acquisition financing passed its maturity at the end of June, triggering an EOD. Praxis Capital Partner has pursued a plan to repay the acquisition financing by selling a portion of SLL Joongang equity and to extend the maturity of the remaining loans.
Curious Partners also presented conditions to increase the likelihood of recovering the investment. A representative measure is credit enhancement using the personal assets of the JoongAng Group Oner family. Plans are being discussed to offer real estate and stocks held by the Oner family as collateral. It is interpreted as reflecting the judgment that SLL Joongang's own assets alone make it difficult to sufficiently guard against downside risk to the new investment.
A measure granting a recovery rank ahead of existing claims was also included in the terms. The structure would allow Curious Partners' new funds to be recovered ahead of the existing acquisition financing syndicate or creditor financial institutions. From the perspective of existing creditors, since the recovery rank of the new funds would precede their own claims, separate consent is required.
Accordingly, for the investment to be finalized, agreement is needed among multiple stakeholders, including not only SLL Joongang and Praxis Capital Partner but also the Oner family, the acquisition financing syndicate, and existing creditor financial institutions. Praxis Capital Partner is known to be obtaining consent from each stakeholder regarding the conditions presented by Curious Partners. While some, such as the acquisition financing syndicate, are showing a positive response, institutions whose claims would be pushed to a junior position are reportedly facing a deeper dilemma.
An industry official said, "The crux is not so much the negotiation between Curious Partners and SLL Joongang as the coordination among the existing stakeholders surrounding SLL Joongang," adding, "Even if there is agreement on the need for new funds, differences may arise over collateral and recovery rank, so whether a final agreement will be reached is key."