VIG Partners Acquires Kombucha 'Tizen' for 80 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] VIG Partners is acquiring Tizen, famous for kombucha, for about 80 billion KRW.

On the 26th, VIG Partners announced that it has signed a contract to acquire 85% of the shares of Tizen Agricultural Corporation, a health beverage specialist company, through its currently managed Fund No. 4 (approximately 1 trillion KRW in scale).

Through this, VIG will acquire all the shares held by IBKTS Exit Private Equity Partnership, which owned 70% of the company’s shares, and 15% of the 30% shares held by CEO Kim Jong-dae and related parties. The contract is expected to be completed in May.

Founded in March 2000, Tizen started with traditional tea products such as green tea and black tea and has expanded its business area to various health beverage products. It secures the highest quality raw materials through a 200,000㎡ organic tea plantation directly operated in Haenam, Jeollanam-do.

In particular, in 2019, Tizen succeeded in commercializing the world’s first freeze-dried kombucha in powder stick form, recording sales of 40.7 billion KRW last year, achieving 100% growth compared to 20.5 billion KRW in 2020.

Kombucha, made by fermenting green or black tea with beneficial bacteria, is a sweet and sour beverage containing live probiotics, and its demand is exploding worldwide.

After the transaction closes, VIG plans to actively recruit professional management and invest in factory expansion. This acquisition of Tizen is the sixth investment of VIG Fund No. 4, following a 30 billion KRW growth capital investment in Pasto Co., Ltd., the official logistics partner of Naver Shopping (executed in early April).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.