April 25, 2024

• 

An exterior view of Yeouido‘s financial district. (Herald DB)

Asset management firm Hyundai Investments on May 20 announced the closure of a new, 490 billion-won ($433 million) private fund dedicated to South Korea-focused acquisition financing for private equity clients.

The fresh fund, closed on May 18, is a second installment of its kind to invest in senior debt, following a 230 billion-won fund created in February 2020. The first installment was fully invested a year after the fund close, financing private equity acquisitions of clients such as Macquarie, KKR and Hahn & Co.

For the second fund, the wholly-owned investment arm of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will team up with investment banks KB Securities and Shinhan Investments to enhance deal sourcing capability. Four out of 10 committed capitals will go to acquisition deals sourced by other deal underwriters than its partners.

The news comes as the domestic private equity market is gaining momentum, and acquirers are in high demand for nonbank loans, the Seoul-based firm said.

Overseeing assets worth 19 trillion won, Hyundai Investments has a track record of credit investing at home and abroad, including its 500 billion-won fund-of-funds investment in a middle-market senior loan fund managed by US-based Antares Capital Advisers.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)