Carlyle in mix for $1.8b Kyobo Life stake

Daewoo International and Korea Asset Management Corp (KAMCO) have put around a third of the group's share capital on the block in two separate sales, which has also attracted the interest of Affinity Equity Partners and MBK Partners. The two buyout firms are said to have submitted initial bids for Daewoo's 24% stake and KAMCO's 9.93%.

The perceived $1.8 billion value of the stake is based on OTC pricing of the company's shares at KRW250,000-300,000.

Woori Investment & Securities and Australia's Macquarie were hired by Daewoo to manage the sale, while KAMCO has mandated Samsung Securities. Barclays Capital is also advising on the sale, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The deadline for expressions of interest in Daewoo's shareholding closed on Friday, which will probably allow bidders three weeks to carry out due diligence. KAMCO plans to pick qualified bidders from its six offers next week, giving bidders a month for checks on the company.

This isn't the first time that Carlyle and Affinity have sought to invest in Kyobo Life. In 2010, the firms conducted due diligence on the business, with a view to picking up a 24% stake estimated to be worth up to $697 million.

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• Topics
• Financials
• Expansion
• North Asia
• South Korea
• Financial Services
• Growth capital
• The Carlyle Group
• Affinity Equity Partners
• MBK Partners