According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 27th, Meritz Securities will join the acquisition financing syndicate for the consortium consisting of The Siena Group and CL Asset Management, which is acquiring Golfzon County. The sale involves the 58.37% stake in Golfzon County (including convertible preferred shares) held by MBK Partners through the special purpose company (SPC) Korea Golf Infrastructure Investment. MBK Partners also holds a drag-along right over the shares of Golfzon Holdings, the second-largest shareholder, enabling the sale of its entire controlling stake.
Meritz and MBK faced off as the largest creditor and the largest shareholder, respectively, during the Homeplus crisis. Last June, the two sides engaged in a public spat, issuing statements criticizing each other over Homeplus’s request for 200 billion won in debt-in-possession (DIP) financing. Even immediately after the court decided in July to terminate Homeplus’s reorganization proceedings, the blame game between the two sides continued. Subsequently, Meritz decided to provide the DIP loan on the condition that MBK and Chairman Kim Byung-ju provide a joint and several guarantee for the full 200 billion won, leading to the resumption of Homeplus’s reorganization; the resale process is currently underway.
Meritz, which had clashed with MBK over the Homeplus deal, has now taken a position in the Golfzon County deal to assist MBK with its exit (return on investment). The sellers’ desired sale price is reportedly between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion won (including debt). Accordingly, Meritz is providing approximately one-third of the total acquisition funds. Meritz Securities’ Corporate Finance Division is reportedly leading this acquisition financing.
MBK initially invested 114 billion won as a financial investor (FI) when Golfzon County was launched in 2018 and subsequently injected an additional 290 billion won. After Golfzon County’s initial public offering (IPO) fell through in 2022, MBK began pursuing a sale and, in March of this year, selected Morgan Stanley and Samjung KPMG as lead underwriters to formally initiate the sale process.
Meanwhile, the buyer and seller are aiming to sign a share purchase agreement (SPA) as early as next month.
