KKR Returns To South Korea With Kim’s Club Deal by PitchBook
KKR has reportedly agreed to acquire superstore chain Kim’s Club from E-Land, with details of the deal to be finalized in the coming month. Based in Seoul, the company operates 37 locations in South Korea, combining grocery options with an array of retail offerings all under one roof.
Last year saw a notable amount of PE activity in South Korea, with 76 PE deals completed in the country, according to the PitchBook Platform. While most of the busiest investors there over the past 10 years are domestic—including SkyLake Incuvest and MBK Partners—global heavyweights such as The Carlyle Group and KKR are also active. The Kim’s Club investment is KKR’s first in South Korea this year, but in recent years the firm acquired a controlling interest in mobile commerce company Ticket Monster as part of a consortium and exited its stake in Oriental Brewery through a sale worth over $5 billion.
PitchBook users can view our full dataset on PE activity in South Korea.
