 |
| (사진=이투스교육) |
[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Anchor Equity Partners (anchor PE) is planning to transfer portfolio companies Etoos Education and Etoos Edu to other funds. It is a structure that extends maturity by leaving the operator (GP) as it is and changing only the investor (LP).
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 9th, Anchor PE has begun the process of replacing funds for Etoos Education and Etoos Edu, which were invested through the first fund. Anchor PE secured an 18.6% stake in Etoos Education in 2015 and made its first investment as the second largest shareholder. Later in 2019, it acquired additional stakes held by existing major shareholders, including CEO Kim Hyung-joong, and became the largest shareholder with a 59.4% stake.
Since May last year, Anchor PE has divided Etoos Education into Danbi Education, known as "Wink" for children aged 4 to 9, Etoos Education, a surviving corporation that includes an educational zone that operates "family tree.com," and Etoos Edu, a new corporation that operates offline academies and Internet lectures. Anchor PE is currently the largest shareholder with a 59.4% stake in the two divided companies.
Anchor PE has been trying to sell the entire management rights of Etoos Education since 2021, but failed to achieve it due to differences in eye level with the acquisition candidates.
Anchor PE is believed to have attempted to extend its maturity through fund replacement when it failed to recover its investment one after another and the fund reached maturity. The first fund, which invested in Etoos Education, was established in 2013 with a 10-year maturity. Since then, it can be extended to two years, but Anchor PE has decided to liquidate the fund this year. Timon, which was a headache of the existing No. 1 fund, sold it to Qten at the risk of losses, while MetaM, the nation's largest call center platform, is trying to resell it by replacing its host company.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
