Glenwood agrees $263m Korean glass carve-out

Hankuk Glass Industries supplies glass to the construction industry. Its major assets are two flat glass production units and a transformation line that employ 310 people. The business generated revenues of around EUR200 million in 2018 and an operating income of EUR10 million.

Saint-Gobin can trace its history back to letters patent signed by Louis XIV in 1665. It now produces a range of materials for use in construction, transportation, healthcare, and general manufacturing. Sales and net income reached EUR41.8 billion and EUR420 million in 2018. Asia was responsible for 7% of sales.

The company entered Korea in 1957. Hankuk Glass was listed until last year, when Saint-Gobain launched a successful tender offer to acquire the 23% of shares owned by minority shareholders. The most recent disclosures indicate that the company generated KRW227 billion in revenue for 2016 and net income of KRW28.5 million.

The decision to divest Hankuk Glass was made as part of a wider corporate restructuring exercise that has seen Saint-Gobain offload EUR3 billion in assets in the past year. Saint-Gobain continues to operate in Korea as a supplier to the automotive and life sciences industries, according to a statement. It also sells insulation material used by industrial and construction clients.

Glenwood, which is led by Sang-Ho Lee, initially worked on a deal-by-deal basis but last year raised KRW453 billion for its first blind pool vehicle. This was largely done on the back of two deals: appliances maker Tongyang Magic, acquired with NH Private Equity in 2014 and sold to SK Networks in 2016; and Halla Cement, bought alongside Baring Private Equity Asia in 2016, with the stake exited to the pan-regional GP a year later.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Buyouts
• Europe
• Industrials
• South Korea
• Glenwood Private Equity
• manufacturing