[Edaily Marketin Reporter LEE GEON-EOM ] It has been confirmed that three major subsidiaries of NICEHoldings have carried out a 23 billion won capital increase through a special purpose company (SPC). This move is seen as a way to secure funding for equity investments in other companies to pursue new business ventures. As signs emerge of a move to reduce the group’s reliance on the manufacturing sector—which has been accumulating losses—and restructure its portfolio around the high-performing financial sector, efforts to improve the group’s overall health are expected to gain momentum.

According to an exclusive report by E-Daily on the 25th, three NICEHoldings companies— NICE Information Service(030190)(hereinafter “NICE Information Service”), NICE INFORMATION&TELECOMMUNICATION INC. (hereinafter “NICE Information & Communications”), and NICE Payments (hereinafter “NICE Payments”)—recently participated in a capital increase for the special purpose company (SPC) “NICE DWR,” which they jointly established, contributing a total of 23 billion won.

The NICE Group is expanding its POS business through NICE DWR. NICE DWR, established through joint investment by NICE Credit Information, NICE INFORMATION&TELECOMMUNICATION INC., and NICE Payments, is the largest shareholder of OKPOS, a manufacturer of card terminals and kiosks, and also owns POSBANK CO., LTD., a company engaged in the POS installation business, as a subsidiary. OK POS also attracted market attention in 2022 when it was revealed that kakaopay had invested in the company, acquiring a stake of around 5%.

Specifically, this 23 billion won capital increase was carried out in proportion to the shareholdings of Nice DWRL’s shareholders. NICE Evaluation Information, which holds a 41.46% stake, contributed approximately 9.5 billion won of the total capital. It is reported that the unlisted companies NICE INFORMATION&TELECOMMUNICATION INC. (33.92%) and NICE Payments (24.62%) contributed 7.8 billion won and 5.7 billion won, respectively.

These funds were identified not as a simple additional investment in the existing OKPOS, but as an “equity investment in another company” aimed at pursuing new business ventures. In fact, it is reported that a portion of the 23 billion won raised through this capital increase has already been used for an equity investment in “Company A,” a payment infrastructure firm.

The market views this investment as a key move to fully launch the Nice Group’s business convergence and expansion strategy. The plan is to maximize synergies for new businesses by combining OKPOS’s existing powerful offline payment network with a new payment infrastructure company as a strategic ally, and integrating this with Nice Credit Information’s core competencies in credit information and data analysis.

In particular, analysts note that this move is closely tied to the Nice Group’s company-wide business restructuring. It is reported that the Nice Group has recently been working to minimize the proportion of its manufacturing division—which has been unable to escape internal losses—and is concentrating its capabilities on the financial sector, which generates stable profits.

An industry insider stated, “This equity investment in another company through Nice DWRL appears to be a strategic decision aimed at further solidifying the payment infrastructure value chain,” adding, “The group’s efforts to restructure its business—focused on improving its portfolio around its core financial sector—are expected to accelerate significantly starting with this investment.”