Keystone PE to acquire Silk Valley GC for about ₩230 billion with a strategic investor [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] Keystone Private Equity (PE), a domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager, is moving to acquire Silk Valley Golf Club (GC), located in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The plan is to form a project fund with a strategic investor (SI) or a financial investor (FI). It has been given the mandate—the responsibility for leading the deal—through the first half of next year. Keystone PE aims to make Silk Valley GC one of the leading golf courses in the Seoul metropolitan area through post-acquisition investment.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 2nd, Keystone PE was selected on the 29th of last month as preferred bidder for Icheon Silk Valley, the operator of Silk Valley GC. The transaction covers 100% of Icheon Silk Valley’s shares. The sale price is 8.5 billion won per hole, or about 230 billion won for all 27 holes.
Silk Valley GC opened in 2013 as a 27-hole public golf course. Last year, it posted revenue of 19.6 billion won and EBITDA of 8.7 billion won. In 2022, it recorded EBITDA of 19.6 billion won. It is also among the golf courses designed by Song Ho, head of Song Ho Golf Design Group, who designed Namchon GC, Wellington CC and Seowon Hills CC, among others.
Keystone PE judged that Silk Valley GC was undervalued compared with other golf courses because, despite its location in the Seoul metropolitan area, it had not received active investment. The firm plans to improve its performance by upgrading the existing clubhouse facilities, golf course and other amenities. The average development cost per hole for courses that opened since 2020—Hillmaru Pocheon (Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province), Monarch (Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province), Shambhala (Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province) and Sehyun (Yongin, Gyeonggi Province)—is about 6.6 billion won. This is why acquiring Silk Valley GC is seen as a way to save the time required to develop a new course while also increasing its value.
The sellers of Icheon Silk Valley are the owner family of Shinan Construction Industry. The company applied for rehabilitation proceedings earlier this year amid a downturn in the real estate market and is currently undergoing the Autonomous Restructuring Support (ARS) program. It plans to resolve its financial issues by selling the golf course.
The deal is being led directly by CEO Kim Tae-hoon, who was appointed head of Keystone PE this year. A former employee of Samjong KPMG, Kim is pursuing the acquisition of Silk Valley GC based on his advisory experience in golf course transactions and turnaround efforts, including Quro CC (now Rose Vien GC) and Royal Foret Country Club (CC). The goal is to sign a definitive acquisition agreement within the year.
An IB industry source said, “It is attractive to secure an existing 27-hole golf course at a time when developing new courses is not easy,” but added, “Given its recent performance, it is difficult to say the acquisition price is low, so the additional investment required for facility upgrades and the pace of profitability recovery will be key.”

[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter