April 27, 2024

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(123rf)

Korea M&A Exchange, Korea's premier M&A trading platform, has successfully secured a 500 million yen ($3.35 million) investment from Nihon M&A Center, Japan's leading M&A trading platform.

A ceremony to mark the agreement between Korea M&A Exchange and Nihon M&A Center was held Thursday at Korea M&A Exchange headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. As part of the agreement, Nihon M&A Center will acquire approximately 10 percent of Korea M&A Exchange's shares, elevating the corporate valuation of Korea M&A Exchange to approximately 50 billion won.

The deal marks the Korean and Japanese exchanges' debut in foreign investments. Korea M&A Exchange has attracted foreign investment for the first time as a domestic M&A intermediary platform, while Nihon M&A Center has made its inaugural investment in a foreign entity.

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nihon M&A Center currently boasts a market capitalization of 32.32 billion yen and facilitates over 1,000 M&A transactions annually through its proprietary intermediary platform.

Korea M&A Exchange plans to use the secured funds to expand in domestic and international markets, while implementing systematic enhancements.

Initially, Korea M&A Exchange intends to enhance the utilization of its accumulated M&A deal database by upgrading the system, with considerations for leveraging artificial intelligence to expedite matching between sellers and buyers.

The investment agreement ceremony between Korea M&A Exchange and Nihon M&A Center takes place at Korea M&A Exchange's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on Thursday. (Korea M&A Exchange)

In the domestic market, attention is being directed towards the growth potential of M&A activities for small and medium-sized enterprises, also with initiatives planned to support the completion of M&A transactions by targeting companies with business succession plans.

Regarding the international market, the capabilities of Nihon M&A Center are expected to be actively utilized following the investment. Collaboration with Nihon M&A Center, which has expanded its operations in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries, is anticipated to stimulate overseas activities of Korea M&A Exchange.

Through various cross-border deal agreements, the exchange aims to optimize stock value and achieve listing on the Kosdaq market within two years.

Lee Chang-hun, Chair of Korea M&A Exchange, expressed, "We are committed to entering the stock market through future IPOs and maximizing shareholder value," showing anticipation towards diverse cross-border deals.

By Kim Jun-hong (hongie@heraldcorp.com)