In October 2019, Lee & Ko represented Hana Financial Investment Co., Ltd. who acted as the mandated lead arranger for a deal involving financing for JKL Partners’ acquisition of approximately 53% stake in Lotte Insurance from Lotte Group. Lee & Ko played an important advisory role in navigating the lending group consisting of 23 different lenders to successfully closing the deal.
With respect to the acquisition financing deal at hand, unlike standard, customary acquisition financings that simply raise funds for acquisition of existing shares, this deal was unique in that it provided funding for capital increase by issuing new shares after JKL Partners’ acquisition of stake in Lotte Insurance. In this process, Lee & Ko played a key role as a legal advisor in effectively and strategically documenting all involved parties’ interests in each step until the deal was successfully closed. Needless to say, Lee & Ko’s ability to provide such service was based on years of experience and knowledge in the field of banking and finance.
Further, this deal is highly noteworthy in that it was the first large scale acquisition financing deal involving a listed company since the enforcement of the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks, Bonds, Etc. as of September 16, 2019. As such, using its diverse and in-depth experience under the circumstances where no such precedents existed in relation to establishment of pledge over electronically registered securities, Lee & Ko successfully negotiated with the Korea Exchange and the Korea Securities Depositary in timely completing establishment of pledge over the existing and new shares of Lotte Insurance which were electronically registered. By doing so, Lee & Ko ensured that the lenders’ rights were firmly protected.
This deal, led by Mr. Myoung Chul Kwak and Mr. Jae Baek Choi, exemplified and re-illustrated Lee & Ko’s position as the leading firm in banking and finance in the Korean legal market.