[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced on the 25th that it expects a strong second half for Capstone Partners Co., Ltd.(452300), stating, “Amid the ongoing inflow of capital into the venture industry, the company’s market position is expected to strengthen further.” However, the firm did not disclose its investment rating or target price.

Yoon Yu-dong, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, predicted, “While the stock price has tended to be strongly linked to profit and loss events related to certain investment assets, this dependence is expected to ease due to gradual portfolio diversification.”
He analyzed, “The cumulative amount of new funds raised in the VC industry through April reached 3.4 trillion won, and on an annualized basis, it is projected to approach the all-time high set in 2022,” adding, “Amid a phase of budget increases in the venture industry, Capstone Partners Co., Ltd. has sought to expand its fund size and has competed for selection as a general partner (GP) in numerous projects by multiple investment institutions, including the National Growth Fund.”
He continued, “We are aiming for an increase of at least 100 billion won this year from our current AUM (assets under management) of 576.5 billion won,” explaining, “We plan to establish at least two new funds this year, with sizes of 50 billion won and 60 billion won, respectively. We intend to focus our investments on the mobility, AI, and ICT sectors, and allocate 75% of the funds to early-stage investments.”
Researcher Yoon elaborated, “Existing investment assets include Karrot Market, DeepX, Ruten, Rebellion, Friendly AI, and Dinotisia. We are considering a follow-up investment in Ruten, following our initial investment last March.”
He particularly emphasized the need to pay close attention to the disposal of the Karrot Market stake. “The liquidation of the fund holding Karrot Market is expected to take about a year,” he said. This is due to some assets in the portfolio still falling short of their target rates of return," he explained, adding, "We expect earnings under the equity method to increase in the second half of the year due to the recognition of gains from the partial sale of Karrot Market and DeepX, as well as pending IPOs for companies such as Ibex Medical Systems and RideFlux."