[Alpha Biz= Reporter Paul Lee] Geo-Young, a drug distributor priced at KRW 2 trillion, will be acquired by MBK Partners. Geo-Young Chairman Cho Sun-hye is expected to remain in the company and lead the management.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 22nd, MBK Partners recently signed a SPA with Blackstone to acquire Geo-Young. Blackstone will hand over a 71.25% stake in Chosun Hyeji Y Holdings, a Geo-Young holding company, to MBK Partners. MBK also acquired the stake of honorary chairman Lee Hee-koo and secured a total of 77%. The acquisition price is known to be about 2 trillion won.
Founded in 2022 by Lee Hee-koo, a former head of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's sales division, and Cho Sun-hye, a former head of the pharmaceutical department at Incheon Hospital, Geo-Young is the No. 1 domestic drug distributor. It has a nationwide sales network and distribution network, and is the first pharmaceutical wholesale company to establish a wide-area logistics facility.
In particular, Geo-Young's annual sales are among the top in the domestic pharmaceutical bio industry. Last year's sales (consolidation) rose 4.9% year-on-year to 4.4386 trillion won. Sales exceeded 4 trillion won for two consecutive years. Operating profit rose 14 percent over the same period to 86.9 billion won.
Cho, who was considering selling his stake, decided to jointly manage MBK Partners and Ji Oh-young. It also decided not to sell its stake (22%). MBK also wanted to continue to utilize Cho's sales power and network. Cho is a powerful figure in the pharmaceutical distribution industry and is in charge of managing Ji Oh-young's actual company.
AlphaBIZ Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
