[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Shares of Korea & Company (000240), which are in dispute over management rights due to open purchase led by MBK Partners, have been on the rise day after day. Despite MBK's denial, the investment banking (IB) industry is paying attention to whether MBK will raise the unit price of the purchase despite exceeding the public purchase price of KRW 20,000 for four consecutive days.

Shares of Korea & Company closed at 22,150 won on the stock market on the 8th, up 0.23% from the previous day. MBK announced an open purchase of up to 27.32% of its stake in Korea & Company at 20,000 won per share on the 5th of this month. However, as the stock price went straight to the upper limit on the day of the announcement and continued to exceed 20,000 won on the same day rising slightly from the previous day, the public purchase strategy has been disrupted.

An official in the IB industry said, "If you have sincerity in securing managerial control, there is no problem with spending a little more on the acquisition." However, an MBK official denied, "We are not considering the possibility of a price increase at the moment."

Meanwhile, the Korea Exchange announced on the same day that it will designate Korea & Company, which showed high stock price volatility due to open purchase, as a short-term overheated item on the 11th. If designated as a short-term overheating item, a single price trading method will be applied every 30 minutes for three trading days, including the designated date.

MBK is seeking to acquire Korea & Company by utilizing the Special Situation Fund No. 2, which was raised to $ 1.8 billion (about 2.3 trillion won) in 2021. Currently, the amount prepared to be used for the public offer is up to 518.7 billion won, and if the stock price does not fall by the 24th of this month, the last day of the public offer, it could further increase the size of the acquisition funds That's the IB industry's main argument.

Some analysts say that additional bets can be made by MBK, given that Cho Hyun-beom, chairman of Korea & Company, currently the largest shareholder (42%), is seeking to secure allies. It is a strategy to increase the unit price of the tender offer to gain an upper hand over the other side's financial power.

In the business community, Chairman Yoon Ho-jung and others are the allies of Chairman Cho. The two are 40-year-old friends who attended Sungshin Elementary School in Seoul, and Hi spent 16 billion won in 2021 when Cho took control of Korea & Company to secure a 0.9% stake at the time. On the 5th, when the public purchase was announced, the company reportedly invested around 5 billion won to buy an additional stake in the market, adding strength to Jukma Gou.

 

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