"Samyang Group Completes KRW 390 Billion M&A Deal" ... Samyang Holdings Seeks to Raise Up to KRW 200 Billion in Corporate Bonds [fnMarketWatch]

[Financial News] Samyang Holdings is returning to the public corporate bond market after about two years and five months and plans to raise up to KRW 200 billion. As Samyang Group accelerates its expansion into specialty businesses, including the completion of its acquisition of Japan's Soda Aromatic, KRW 140 billion in corporate bonds will mature next month.
According to financial investment industry sources on the 2nd, Samyang Holdings will conduct bookbuilding on the 23rd of this month, targeting a KRW 100 billion corporate bond issuance.
If bookbuilding is successful, the company plans to increase the offering to as much as KRW 200 billion, double its initial target. The bonds are scheduled to be issued on the 30th of the same month.
NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and Samsung Securities will serve as joint lead managers. The indicative yield band is expected to range from 30 basis points below to 30 basis points above the individual market yield.
This will be Samyang Holdings' first public bond issuance in about two years and five months since it issued KRW 180 billion in bonds on May 28, 2024. The company faces a KRW 140 billion corporate bond maturity next month. Its credit rating is AA-.
Samyang Holdings is the holding company of the Samyang affiliates. It became a pure holding company following the spin-off of Samyang Biopharm last November. Listed on the KOSPI, the company was 41.8% owned by its largest shareholder and related parties as of the end of March. Its unsecured corporate bonds are rated AA-.
Funding needs have continued as the group expands its specialty businesses. In July, Samyang completed the acquisition of a 100% stake in Japanese flavor company Soda Aromatic. The deal was valued at approximately KRW 387.7 billion and marked Samyang Group's first acquisition of a Japanese company. Earlier, in 2023, it acquired U.S. surfactant maker Verdant for approximately KRW 330 billion. NICE Credit Rating assessed that "although the scale of these investments exceeds the affiliates' operating cash generation, they are responding through the sale of the Bucheon Sosa plant site and debt financing."

[email protected] Hyun-jung Kim Reporter