South Korea’s leading buyout fund, VIG Partners (VIG), announced that global investment firm KKR is acquiring a partial stake of domestic funeral service provider Preed Life from VIG.
This transaction will be undertaken by KKR’s Private Credit group. Preed Life’s equity value has been valued at KRW1.0 trillion, although the deal value remains undisclosed.
Starting with the acquisition of Joun Life in 2016, VIG preemptively invested and consolidated several funeral service providers when the industry itself was still undervalued.
In 2020, VIG acquired and merged Preed Life with Joun Life, establishing the unparalleled market leader.
As the industry’s pioneer, VIG established a dedicated investment arm at Preed Life, introducing a professional and disciplined asset management system.
Various initiatives were implemented to enhance Preed Life’s investment expertise, including business agreements with KB Asset Management, a leading asset manager in Korea.
VIG is pleased to welcome KKR as an investment partner to benchmark global asset management and risk management systems going forward.
In June, just prior to this transaction, VIG completed a KRW 360 billion recapitalization arranged by Woori Bank.
Even after the transaction, VIG continues to hold a controlling stake in Preed Life and plans to focus on maximizing firm value before executing a control sale.
The Korean pre-need funeral service industry grew rapidly in recent years, with 8.9 million subscribers and cumulative pre-need deposits of KRW 9.4 trillion as of March 2024.
As of June 2024, Preed Life boasts a robust profile of 2.2 million active subscribers, cumulative pre-need deposits of KRW 2.4 trillion, and total assets of KRW 2.8 trillion.
Business News Asia