Hong Kong-based global private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners plans to sell its 47 percent stake in Korean top drug retailer Geoyoung, according to industry sources on Feb. 25.
The PEF has reportedly picked Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities as it manager to organize the sale of Geoyoung’s shares.
Established in 2002, Geoyoung currently retails drugs to around 14,000 pharmacies and 50 large hospitals here, accounting for around 70 percent of the Korean drug retailing market. The company grew drastically and became the top company here after receiving 40 billion won funds from Goldman Sachs’ PEF unit Goldman Sachs PIA in 2009.
Due to the Korean company’s high sales and firm market share, large global PEFs are expressing their interest in buying the company. Geoyoung’s sales last year reached over 2.32 trillion won (US$2.07 billion).
According to sources, the firm’s valuation is estimated be around 1 trillion won.
Geoyoung recently started cosmetics and functional food business to diversify its business portfolio.
In 2013, Anchor Equity Partners acquired 25 percent stake in Geoyoung worth around 70 billion won from Goldman Sachs PIA. It later increased its stake to 47 percent through buying additional shares.
By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)