Bold Bets While Others Hesitate: Premier Partners Reborn as a Top Bio House [Large VC In-Depth] ⑥

Strengthening Expertise with Bio Division Established in 2016

"Jackpot" as Operating Profit Grows 23 Times Following Vaime Acquisition

Korea's First LLC-Type VC Proves Sustainability Through Generational Shift

Editor's Note
An unprecedented amount of capital is flooding into the venture investment market. As the government's large-scale policy funds are fully activated, major venture capital (VC) firms are rapidly scaling up as well. However, managing more money is a different matter from simply having it. We are conducting an in-depth analysis of trends in the VC market and major domestic VCs through an 11-part series. We selected the top houses by assets under management (AUM), excluding those with a high proportion of private equity. After a comprehensive overview of the market, we delve into each company's growth trajectory, representative portfolios, investment philosophy and decision-making structure, key figures, and corporate culture.

Premier Partners, the first limited liability company (LLC)-style VC in Korea, has a distinctive feature rarely seen at other houses: its dedicated bio division. Now in its second decade since establishment, this organization is solidifying Premier Partners' reputation as a “bio specialist house.” The primary goal for the team this year is to successfully create a 200 billion won bio fund, for which it recently secured general partner (GP) eligibility. The private equity (PE) division is also reinforcing its reputation as a “bio powerhouse” through the growth of acquired bio companies.

A Dedicated Bio Division with Deep Expertise... 200 Billion Won Fund Targeted

With its selection as a government policy fund manager (GP), Premier Partners has further cemented its position as a leading health and bio house. Following competition with EN Investment, Premier Partners was chosen as the GP for the Mother Fund’s Ministry of Health and Welfare-backed 7th K-Bio & Vaccine Fund in June. While the official target for the fund was 100 billion won, Premier Partners set its own goal at 200 billion won—twice that amount. The primary investment targets are Korean companies across all areas of pharmaceuticals, bio, and health, or those developing innovative vaccine-related technologies and production processes, with at least 60% of total commitments required to be invested in these companies.

This is not the first time Premier Partners has formed a K-Bio & Vaccine Fund. After Mirae Asset Venture Investment and Mirae Asset Capital failed to establish the second fund due to a slump in bio investment, Premier Partners was the sole applicant in the reopened bid and was appointed as GP in October 2023. Despite challenging fundraising conditions during the third fund’s bidding process, Premier Partners succeeded in raising approximately 156.6 billion won within 10 months of GP selection. This fund has invested in companies such as Kanaph Therapeutics and Qurient, and has been generating equity-method income since last year.

The "Bio Division" enhances the firm's expertise. The formation of the 200 billion won fund is also being managed by this team. Established in 2016, the dedicated division is led by six investment professionals including Managing Director Oh Seungjun, all with proven expertise and experience in bio and biotechnology fields.

While the VC division sources investment opportunities across a wide range of sectors such as deep tech, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and semiconductors, the bio division is focused on the single specialty of bio. A Premier Partners representative explained, "The bio division primarily invests in Series A companies and, as certain project milestones are achieved through the investment process, the division makes follow-on investments or proceeds to Series B and C investments in companies capable of technology transfer or sales growth."

The PE division has also recently delivered significant growth for companies in the health and bio fields. The healthcare and medical device company Vaim, acquired in 2023, is expected to be a jackpot for the firm. Vaim's flagship product is the skin booster 'Juvelook,' which promotes the generation of collagen and elastin under the skin.

Since Premier Partners’ acquisition of Vaim, the company's performance has been on an upward trend. In 2023, Vaim recorded sales of 19,350,420,000 won and operating profit of 10,349,030,000 won. Last year, these amounts rose to 126,178,780,000 won and 80,354,140,000 won, respectively—a 552% increase in sales and a 676% increase in operating profit over two years. Premier Partners is currently in the process of selecting a sell-side advisor and is seeking buyers.

Korea’s First LLC-Style VC... Leadership Transition Demonstrates Sustainability

Premier Partners is the first LLC-style venture capital firm in Korea. An LLC-style VC is a limited liability company that only invests through venture funds raised externally. In a traditional VC, potential conflicts of interest may arise as the company’s shareholders and the fund managers are separate, whereas in an LLC-style VC, the partners who manage the funds are also their direct investors, so conflicts of interest are minimized. Since current Standing Advisor Jung Sungin co-founded Premier Partners with current CEO Song Hyukjin in 2005, the LLC model has become a new standard in the venture capital industry.

Premier Partners has been operating for over 20 years, and its recent generational transition demonstrates the sustainability of the LLC VC model. Founding member Advisor Jung stepped away from the management frontline and transferred his equity shares to the executives.

At the end of 2023, Advisor Jung’s equity share was 22.18% (244 units), the same as CEO Song. In the following year, his share dropped to 9.09% (100 units). Jung’s shares were transferred to CEO Kim Seong-eun and Vice President Lim Yonggi. During the same period, CEO Kim’s equity increased from 13.64% (150 units) to 22.18% (244 units), and Vice President Lim’s share rose from 5.09% (56 units) to 9.64% (106 units). As of the end of last year, the most recent data, Advisor Jung’s share stood at 4.55% (50 units), which was transferred to Managing Director Kim Minbeom (4.55%, 50 units).

Premier Partners has continually delivered solid investment results as a first-generation LLC-style VC, overcoming its initial disadvantage of relatively low company capital—which at times threatened its competitiveness in terms of GP commitments. As of August 18, total assets under management (AUM) were 1,027,130,000,000 won in the VC division (with 10 funds) and 2,492,400,000,000 won in the PE division (with 8 funds), for a combined total of 3,519,534,000,000 won. The cumulative AUM stands at 3,971,034,000,000 won.

There are also multiple anticipated exits. In the VC division, companies such as ANH Structure, AITRICS, Superb AI, and Musinsa are preparing to go public. In the bio division, Vertis, DCGen, and Frasier are also pursuing IPOs. Among companies in the bio division that have already succeeded in listing on KOSDAQ, Orum Therapeutics, Kanaph Therapeutics, and Qurient are now seeking exit opportunities. As of market close on August 20, Orum Therapeutics was trading at about three times its IPO price of 20,000 won per share, while Qurient was trading at 25% above its IPO price of 21,000 won. In contrast, Kanaph Therapeutics was trading below its IPO price of 20,000 won.

<To be continued in the series>

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