MBK Partners Moving to Take over Korea Center and Danawa

MBK Partners, the nation's largest private equity fund operator, is seeking to take over online shopping mall platform Korea Center and e-commerce platform Danawa.

The private equity company intends to become the largest shareholder of Korea Center, which in turn will acquire Danawa with investment funds from MBK Partners. The deal will be made only when Korea Center succeeds in acquiring Danawa. If all goes according to plan, MBK Partners will be able to secure valuable information regarding the e-commerce market.

Korea Center is a company that has the No. 1 cross-border shopping platform in Korea. It started as an online shopping mall construction platform. Danawa operates a price comparison platform and a computer parts distribution business together.

Danawa is in the M&A market with NH Investment & Securities as the lead manager. The main tender is scheduled to take place on Nov. 18. KG Group participated in the preliminary bidding along with Korea Center. The sale price is expected to reach 250 billion won to 300 billion won based on Danawa's market capitalization of 380 billion won on Nov. 9.

Meanwhile, Korea Center said that it was seeking to acquire Danawa, but the final partner has not been selected. "We are looking for a partner to acquire Danawa, and it is true that we are talking with MBK Partners, but nothing has been decided yet," Korea Center said. "A decision will be made around Nov. 18 when the acquisition process begins."