Lee & Ko’s Private Equity team advises clients in all aspects of private equity and is held in the highest regard for its ability to handle complex issues relating to both domestic and overseas private equity funds.

Since the introduction of regulations governing private equity funds in the early 2000s, our Private Equity team has been a pioneer in the field of private equity, having successfully advised the formation of the first private equity fund in Korea, and together with the growth of the Korean private equity market, has grown into one of the largest and most trusted practices in the country. In recent years, our Private Equity team has garnered considerable transaction experience and knowledge having represented both global and domestic private equity firms in numerous high profile mergers and acquisitions transactions in Korea. Further, our Private Equity team also has extensive experience and expertise in advising domestic private equity firms in their overseas investments, which is a practice area that is rapidly growing and is expected to grow as the domestic market matures.

Our Private Equity team represents an amalgamation of professionals from various practice areas including M&A, anti-trust, acquisition finance, financial regulations, foreign exchange regulations and tax, who, through mutual cooperation and respect, take pride in providing a seamless one-stop legal service to our clients.

主要业务方向

Fund formation and related reporting obligations
Establishment and registration of general partners (GPs) of private equity funds
M&A – domestic investments/divestitures
M&A – overseas investments/divestitures
Compliance with financial regulations and foreign exchange regulations
Dissolution/liquidation of private equity funds
Limited partner (LP) investments in private equity funds
Dispute resolution and conflict of interest

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代表性案例

Fund Formation

Formation of the first Korean private equity fund (MAPS Private Equity Fund I, which is currently Mirae Asset Partners No. I Private Equity Fund)
Formation of numerous PEFs by Woori Investment & Securities Co., Macquarie, IBK, KB Investment, etc. (Mars Private Equity Fund No. I, Macquarie Korea Opportunities Private Equity Fund, IBK-KIBO Capital Private Equity Fund No. I, Woori Private Equity Fund and others)
Formation of Korean government-led private equity funds (STIC Korea Integrated-Technologies New Growth Engine Private Equity Fund and IBK-AUCTUS Green Growth Private Equity Fund, etc.)
Formation of the first foreign venture investment fund pursuant to the Act on Special Measures for the Promotion of Venture Businesses (Korea Venture Fund No. 1)
Formation of the first overseas venture investment fund with the Korean government, the Ministry of Information and Communication, as one of its investors (Korea Growth Investment Fund)
Formation of rental housing funds (Korea Land Corporation and Eugene Asset Management Co., Ltd.)
Formation of the overseas resources development fund sponsored by Korea National Oil Corporation and Korea Resources Corp.
Formation of various special purpose investment funds
Establishment of “Shared Growth PEF” led by Korea Finance Corporation

Investment and Disposal

KDB Value VI LLC’s acquisition of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.
Macquarie Korea Opportunity Fund’s acquisition of shareholding in SK E&S Co., Ltd.
STIC Korea Integrated-Technologies New Growth Engine Private Equity Fund’s acquisition and subsequent sale of shareholding in MDS Technology Co., Ltd., a KRX KOSDAQ Market-listed company that manufactures embedded systems
STIC Korea Integrated-Technologies New Growth Engine Private Equity Fund’s acquisition of shareholding in HY-LOK Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial parts and tools
JAFCO Asia Technology Fund II’s acquisition of shareholding in TOBESOFT Co., Ltd., a software platform developer
KB-Glenwood Private Equity Fund I‘s acquisition of POWERNET TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, a manufacturer of circuit boards
Macquarie Korea Opportunity Fund’s acquisition of shareholding in Hanjin Pacific Corporation
Mars Private Equity Fund No.2’s acquisition and subsequent sale of shareholding in Seoul Lake Side Co., Ltd.
EQP POSCO Global No.1 Natural Resources Private Equity Fund’s acquisition of shareholding in ArcelorMittal, a steel and mining company
Woori Blackstone Korea Opportunity Private Equity Fund I’s and SHBNPP Mezzanine Private Security Investment Trust No. 1’s acquisitions of shareholdings in NS Home Shopping Co., Ltd.
KoFC STIC Growth Champ No. 2010-2 Private Equity Fund’s and STIC Korea Integrated-Technologies New Growth Engine Private Equity Fund’s acquisitions of shareholdings in POSCO ENERGY Co., Ltd.
NH-Glenwood I Private Equity Fund’s acquisition of TONGYANG MAGIC Inc.

Registration

FSC registrations and related advice for foreign collective investment schemes (funds)
Advice on Korean marketing restrictions and compliance issues for foreign collective investment schemes
FSC registrations and related advice for foreign investment advisory business entities. (Clients include entities such as Bank J. Safra Sarasin, Man Investments, Citadel, Altius Associate, Nuveen Investments, etc.)

Representative Clients

Domestic and foreign asset management companies: Woori Private Equity, Hana Daetoo Securities, Auctus Investment Partners, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), IBK Securities, Macquarie Securities Korea, Man Investments, KTB Asset Management, Macquarie Korea Opportunities Investment, Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management, KB Investment & Securities, KB Investment, STIC Investment, Ilshin Investment, SL Investment, K3 Equity Partners, EFG Bank and others.