[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] KH Group is planning to sell its stake in IHQ, a listed company in the securities market, two years after the acquisition.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 10th, KH Media, the controlling shareholder of IHQ, has selected Samil Accounting Corporation as the sales manager and is looking for original buyers. The sale target is a 29.69% stake in IHQ held by KH Media and KH Feelux. Currently, the market capitalization of IHQ is 57.9 billion won.

IHQ is the parent company of the entertainment agency SidusHQ. Sidus HQ made its reputation in the early 2000s as an agency with the best actors of the time, including Jeon Ji-hyun, Jung Woo-sung, Cha Tae-hyun, Cho In-sung, Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Kim Hye-soo, Park Shin-yang and Choi Ji-woo. IHQ merged with SidusHQ in 2004 and took care of cable channels through CU media merger in 2014. The main business division of IHQ is divided into entertainment and media business which makes programs such as 'delicious guys' and 'mad expedition'. I am currently operating four channels.

IHQ became an affiliate of KH Group in 2021. In February 2021, KH Media, which was jointly invested by Sambon Electronics (currently KH Electronics) Consortium (Sambon Electronics, EXT, and Jangwon Tech), invested 110.4 billion won to acquire IHQ.

After being acquired by KH Group, IHQ began printing large amounts of convertible bonds (CB). Starting with CB worth 20 billion won (the 3rd unguaranteed private equity convertible bond) in March 2021, CB has been issued 11 times until last year. As of the end of last year, the CB balance (including interest) exposed to liquidity risks within a year reached 111.5 billion won. However, at the beginning of the year, KH Group succeeded in selling the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel and repaid about 70 billion won in CB.

The IHQ continues its deficit march every year. As of 2021, IHQ's operating loss was 11.6 billion won and net loss was 10.1 billion won. Last year, the situation worsened, with operating losses soaring to KRW 32.2 billion and net losses soaring to KRW 112.1 billion. IHQ's financial debt totaled 69.4 billion won as of June 30 this year. In the end, the transaction was suspended in April after IHQ was rejected for its financial statements for the 2022 business year.

 

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