KKR & Co, MBK Partners and Brookfield Asset Management are among the potential acquirers of a minority stake in South Korean gas company AirFirst, which local PE firm IMM Private Equity is looking to sell for $1 billion, according to a report by Reuters.
Unnamed Reuters sources have revealed that the Seoul-based investment firm is expecting to receive first-round, non-binding bids by 16 March.
IMM PE, which acquired the South Korean assets of German industrial gases group Linde for $1.2 billion in 2019 and rebranded the company as AirFirst, is targeting a valuation of over $3 billion for the whole company, according to the sources.
Established in 2006, IMM PE is one of South Korea’s major homegrown investors focusing on both buyouts and growth investments in the country with $7.4 billion total assets under management.
