Woori Investment Securities closes 600 billion won acquisition financing deal, proving IB strength

Woori Investment Securities has completed acquisition financing worth 600 billion won ($387 million) — the largest in the firm's history — demonstrating its investment banking capabilities.

The company said Wednesday it closed the acquisition financing arrangement June 30 for a consortium of Stick Alternative Asset Management and Korea Investment Private Equity, which acquired stakes in SK Group's energy generation assets Ulsan GPS and SK Multi Utility.

Ulsan GPS is a combined-cycle power plant capable of running on both LNG and LPG, giving it stable electricity generation capacity. SK Multi Utility is a distributed energy provider that supplies power directly to companies in the Ulsan Mipo Industrial Complex.

The overall transaction was valued at 1.6 trillion won. Woori Investment Securities served as co-arranger, responsible for 600 billion won — more than half of the total 1 trillion won in acquisition financing. The deal is the firm's first major acquisition financing transaction since it completed a 1 trillion won rights offering in May, and its first large-scale achievement after securing the capital base needed to handle big-ticket transactions.

Woori Investment Securities said it had worked with the consortium before the preferred bidder was selected, providing comprehensive financial solutions spanning advisory, arrangement and investment. Through that involvement, the firm played a central role throughout the transaction and drove the deal to closing, it said.

"This transaction is a meaningful case that demonstrates Woori Investment Securities' competitiveness in an acquisition financing market long dominated by the largest brokerages," a company official said. "Having successfully proven our ability to handle major deals on our own, we will continue to pursue large transactions backed by differentiated financial solutions."