Headland completes $55m buyout of South Korea’s YoungToys

YoungToys has a market leading positions in the car robot transformer and fashion doll market segments. The company's major products are the "Tobot" transformer robot, targeting 3-6 year-old children, and the "Jouju" and "Kongsuni" dolls, aimed at girls aged 1-6.

Since 1998, Headland has completed 18 investments in South Korea, amounting to around US$780 million, primarily in the consumer and industrial manufacturing sectors.

The firm sees the toy market as attractive segment within the consumer sector because of a projected steady growth rate, increasingly significant entry barriers and consolidation in favor of the leading players with established brands and relationships with cable TV companies and discount stores.

On a broader level, the toy market is expected to grow in parallel with rising GDP per capita as domestic spending levels reach levels more in line with economically advanced countries.

YoungToys is unique in Korea in that it has successfully launched its own brands, backed by an animation-linked business model that Headland expects to dominate the market in the future.

"The company has a strong product line-up with significant growth potential," said Taigon Kim, senior partner at Headland. "The management team has been highly innovative in moving the company up the value chain by developing its own characters and pioneering the animation-linked business model in South Korea. We will help the company expand from its solid base, working with management to increase its sales and profitability."

Chan Hee Han, CEO of Young Toys, added that, with Headland's support, the company will expand its product range, revise pricing and marketing strategies and introduce an enhanced empoyee incentive scheme.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Consumer
• Buyout
• Expansion
• Buyouts
• South Korea
• Headland Capital Partners
• buyout
• Consumer