Asia Mountaineering Holdings B.V. (“AMH”), a Netherlands headquartered company owned by Funds managed by Unitas Capital, announced it will be making an investment of KRW 190 billion ($162m) in NEPA Co., Ltd. (NEPA) – is a leading outdoor apparel and equipment manufacturer and retailer in South Korea.
AMH is subscribing into KRW190 billion of new primary shares issued by the company for a significant minority stake. Hyung Seob Kim (“HS Kim”), the largest shareholder and CEO of the company, will retain a majority shareholding position while AMH will become the second largest shareholder in the company post-transaction. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June 2012.
NEPA is the fastest growing outdoor player in Korea with a proven and recognised track record in utilising premium materials, leading performance technology and superior design capabilities which match consumers’ outdoor needs. NEPA generated around KRW300 billion ($255m) of revenue in 2011, while same store sales increased by more than 40% per annum in the past two years.
Under its proprietary brand, NEPA designs approximately 500 SKU’s (product lines) of outdoor apparel and equipment products each year and distributes its products through an exclusive retail network of over 300 directly operated and franchised stores in Korea.
NEPA was originally an apparel division managed by PyungAhn L&C, a Korean apparel company with over 60 years of corporate history. PyungAhn recently spun out NEPA as a separate entity into which Unitas is injecting new equity capital to be used to further accelerate the company’s growth. NEPA CEO and founder HS Kim will continue to lead the company’s day-to-day domestic operations and will work closely with Unitas to spearhead the company’s global expansion.
HS Kim commented, “We were looking for an investor who could not only provide capital but also help us to build NEPA into a global brand. After learning of Unitas’ successful track record of investing in Korean companies and helping to transform businesses into global players, we recognised that Unitas would make the ideal partner to further grow the NEPA brand into other markets.”
Eugene Suh, Partner and COO of Unitas Capital, said, “Outdoor apparel is one of the fastest growing sectors globally and Korean outdoor apparel companies have been leaders in both performance technology and design. We are delighted to be able to partner with NEPA and HS Kim as we believe that NEPA is the most exciting brand in the Korean outdoor market and has a tremendous opportunity to become a significant global brand.”
Unitas Capital is one of the most experienced dedicated regional private equity firms in Asia, with $4 billion in capital commitments under management. Since 1999, Unitas has advised on investments exceeding $2.8 billion into 31 companies. Unitas targets investments in market-leading industrial, branded consumer and retail companies with strong cash-generative business models, barriers to entry and differentiated product capabilities. Unitas uses its strong group of in-house operators to improve and grow businesses in its portfolio. Unitas has a strong track record of investing in established local brands in the consumer and retail sector, helping improve their operations to global best standards and then growing these brands significantly.
In Korea, Unitas has invested in (i) Mando Corporation, the largest auto parts component company in Korea and helped transform it into a global player; (ii) Haitai Corporation, the 2nd largest snacks and confectionary player in Korea where it helped revitalize and significantly grow the business and (iii) Buy The Way Corp, a leading chain of convenience stores where it helped the company grow from 900 to 1500 stores and led a transformation in merchandising in the Korea convenience store industry.
In Asia and globally, in addition to helping turn Mando Corporation into a global auto parts company, Unitas has also led the successful globalization efforts of investee companies Hyva Holding B.V., Edwards Group Limited, and Air International Thermal Systems
