[Interview] The Key Player Behind Every K-Beauty M&A Deal: "I Try It Myself Before Deciding"

Boram Lee, EY-Parthenon Partner and EY Korea's First Female Partner in the Deals Division

Advising K-beauty Companies Including BiOL, VAIM, JiniUS, and IMIIN

"Consistent Performance Matters... Monitoring Reliance on Specific Ingredients or Products"

Boram Lee, Partner in the Strategy and Transactions Advisory division at EY-Parthenon and one of the first female partners in the Deals division at EY Korea, is known for her empathy and attention to detail as she advises on major K-beauty transactions involving private equity funds such as VIG Partners and Premier Partners. During financial due diligence, she is known for her passion, even personally using the products of client companies to better understand their growth potential. In an interview held at EY Korea's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on August 27, Lee, an expert who has worked with various K-beauty companies, cited "sustainability" as the most important factor when advising K-beauty firms.

Eboram Lee, Partner at EY-Parthenon, poses for an interview with The Asia Business Daily at the Yeouido office in Seoul. August 27, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Lee is recognized as a K-beauty expert who has provided buy-side advisory services, financial due diligence, and valuation for multiple K-beauty firms including BiOL for VIG Partners, VAIM for Premier Partners, JiniUS for SG PE, and IMIIN for IMM Investment. Out of the numerous deals she has handled, she especially recalls last year's "BiOL tender offer" as the most memorable. She stated, "From the initial cold call to closing the deal, I was involved in the whole process for 9 to 10 months," adding, "The deal structure itself was a public tender offer—something rarely seen in Korea—which made it all the more memorable."

Last year, VIG Partners acquired BiOL, a KOSDAQ-listed medical aesthetic device company, and then pursued a public tender offer to delist it. In June of last year, VIG Partners set up a special purpose company called Vienna Investment Purpose Company and announced a public tender offer for between 12,125,998 and 37,438,265 shares of BiOL common stock at a price of 12,500 won per share. Ultimately, they secured over 95% equity—a threshold required for voluntary delisting—and achieved their goal.

In this transaction, Lee supported negotiations between major shareholders (sellers) and buyers for the shareholder agreements. Because the target was a listed company, maintaining confidentiality around the tender offer was critical. She explained, "Even rumors about a public tender offer for a listed company in the market can be interpreted to mean that the tenderer is willing to pay a premium over the current market price. For the buyer, since funds from limited partners (LPs) are at stake, an increase in share price can reduce investment returns, making confidentiality extremely important."

Eboram Lee, Partner at EY-Parthenon, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the Seoul Yeouido office building. 2026.8.27 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

The need for confidentiality also led to a tense moment. Due to different disclosure times among interested parties, the share price temporarily rose above the tender price for about an hour at the start of the tender, as some investors who were unaware of the disclosure saw the spike and likely anticipated good news, increasing their buy orders. Lee admitted, "It is still a nerve-wracking memory," but added, "I quickly communicated with the companies whose disclosures were delayed to expedite the disclosure process and managed to resolve the situation." However, she reflected, "Despite being a sensitive deal, except for this incident, most things proceeded smoothly, making it an all-around positive transaction."

In 2023, Lee also handled financial due diligence and valuation when Premier Partners acquired VAIM, a medical aesthetics company. VAIM is currently seeking a new acquirer, and estimates place its corporate value at up to 2 trillion won. During the due diligence, Lee foresaw VAIM's growth potential. She remarked, "I went to the factory to conduct interviews, and I was impressed by the company officials' explanation of how, while other products on the market inject substances that improve the skin, VAIM's 'Juvelook' actually facilitates collagen production in the skin using its core ingredient." She added, "I even received a treatment during the project and, from a consumer perspective, thought the growth potential was significant."

Premier Partners is known to have acquired a 76% stake in VAIM for 80 billion won in 2023. Since the acquisition, VAIM's revenue rose from 19,350,420,000 won in 2023 to 126,178,780,000 won last year, and operating profit grew from 10,349,030,000 won to 80,354,140,000 won.

Buram Lee, partner at EY-Parthenon, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the Seoul Yeouido office building. 2026.8.27 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

With the recent Korean Wave boosting the K-beauty sector, related transaction advisory work has also increased. Lee notes that K-beauty is especially sensitive to changing trends, making it essential to consider sustainability even when current performance indicators are favorable. "We look at product quality, the degree of quality control in cases of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) and ODM (Original Design Manufacturing), and whether the company owns its own research center," she said. "We also pay close attention to companies that rely heavily on specific trending ingredients or products," she added. According to her, "Companies within the consistently popular K-beauty segment are seeing more and more deals."

Meanwhile, EY-Parthenon, where Lee works, is a specialized Strategy and Transactions (SaT) advisory brand within EY Korea. The division houses both the financial advisory and strategy consulting teams, creating synergy in deal advisory work.

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