Kibo M&A Platform Facilitates 24.5 Billion Won Deal: "A Result of Public-Private Cooperation"

APS Innovation Acquires 100% Stake in Irae

Through the Technology Guarantee Fund's 'Public-Private Cooperation M&A Platform,' APS Innovation, a company specializing in secondary battery equipment, is advancing into the cosmetics automation equipment business. By combining the M&A demand discovered by a public institution with the intermediary and advisory capabilities of a private specialized organization, a transaction worth 24.5 billion won was successfully completed.

A view of the Korea Technology Finance Corporation in Nam-gu, Busan Metropolitan City. Kibo

On August 21, the Technology Guarantee Fund announced that, through its public-private cooperation M&A platform operated to promote M&A activity among small and medium-sized venture enterprises, it had concluded the M&A deal for APS Innovation's entry into the cosmetics automation equipment market.

This deal was carried out in conjunction with the merger between Irae and its related company Gloco. APS Innovation will acquire 100% of the post-merger surviving entity Irae, as well as the business division of Irae Engineering, for a total of 24.5 billion won. The relevant agreements were signed earlier this month.

APS Innovation, a KOSDAQ-listed company, manufactures equipment used in secondary battery and display production processes. To enter new business areas by leveraging technologies accumulated in its existing operations, APS Innovation registered as a potential buyer on the Kibo M&A platform.

Kibo connected APS Innovation and private investment institute InterCapital Partners, which participates on the platform, providing support for M&A deal brokerage and professional advisory services. InterCapital Partners matched APS Innovation—which was pursuing new business expansion—with Irae, which was seeking to enter overseas markets, and provided comprehensive advisory on the design of the transaction structure, due diligence, negotiation of key terms, and contract execution.

APS Innovation plans to diversify its business area by combining Irae's cosmetics filling and packaging automation equipment technology with its own precision machinery control and manufacturing expertise through this M&A deal. Irae, in turn, expects to be able to expand its sales channels by leveraging the overseas business infrastructure that APS Innovation has established in countries such as the United States, Canada, and China.

Deals involving technology-focused small and medium-sized enterprises utilizing Kibo's M&A platform continue to close. In June, Kibo supported everything from deal brokerage to acquisition guarantees, enabling startup ByteMe to acquire a stake in Live Alive. Kibo plans to further expand M&A for small and medium-sized venture enterprises by combining the public M&A support infrastructure with the expertise of private specialized organizations.

Kwon Hyungtaek, Chairman of Kibo, said, "This M&A case demonstrates that the Kibo M&A platform is making a real contribution to the growth of technology-based small and medium-sized venture enterprises and the creation of an innovative ecosystem," adding, "We will actively discover and support technology-driven M&A by expanding cooperation with private organizations and bring new vitality to the domestic small and medium-sized venture company M&A market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.