Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| gettyimagesbank |
By Park Jae-hyuk
STIC Investments has become the nation's first private equity firm (PEF) to be listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) by completing a merger with its parent company, DPC, a high-voltage transformer manufacturer that was listed on the main bourse in 1997.
According to DPC's regulatory filing, Sunday, its shareholders agreed last Friday to the company's plan to change its name to STIC Investments after merging with the PEF. The shareholders also backed the appointment of three STIC executives as new executive directors.
The general meeting of DPC shareholders took place two months after the company announced the plan, citing the goal of long-term growth.
STIC also reshuffled its executives earlier this month ahead of the merger. At present, the PEF is in talks with an unnamed buyer to sell DPC's manufacturing business, because the merged entity changed its main business to fund management and investments, instead of electronic device manufacturing.
Industry officials expect it will become easier for STIC to attract investments after going public, considering the fact that global PEFs, such as Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR, saw their fundraising capabilities improve after they went public on the U.S. stock market.
"Investments in listed PEFs differ from direct investments in private equity funds," Seoul National University professor Lee Kwan-hui said in a report. "Investors can invest only a small amount of money in listed PEFs, avoiding barriers to investment."
However, concerns linger over possible fluctuations in STIC's stock price, because the earnings performances of PEFs may not be as steady as those of manufacturers.
