Global private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Asian buyout fund MBK Partners have put in bids for a majority stake in Samsung Group’s procurement unit IMarketKorea, Reuters reports. The stake is valued at $326 million. The South Korean multinational company, which appointed Goldman Sachs Group to advise on the deal, said in August it planned to sell a combined 58.7 percent stake in the non-core business, held by nine of its affiliates.
Samsung is extending five-year guarantees to prospective buyers, to ensure $1.766 billion of revenue annually through IMarketKorea. A consortium headed by South Korean shopping mall operator Interpark Corp., which includes private equity fund H&Q, also placed a bid for the stake. IMarketKorea was set up in 2000 to offer goods and maintenance services for business clients.
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