VIG Partners Sells Minority Stake of Fried Life to KKR
FriedLife Valued at Over 1 Trillion Won
On the 8th, VIG Partners announced that global investment firm KKR will acquire a portion of the shares of FriedLife, in which VIG Funds 3 and 4 jointly hold about 80% of the management control shares.
This transaction will be executed under KKR's private credit strategy, and the specific transaction amount has not been disclosed. However, FriedLife's corporate value is known to be estimated at over 1 trillion KRW.
VIG boldly acquired additional funeral service companies starting with the acquisition of Good Life in 2016, when the funeral service industry was not receiving much attention. After acquiring FriedLife in 2020, it merged with Good Life in early 2021 to grow into the industry's number one company.
In 2020, VIG established an asset management headquarters within FriedLife for efficient asset management, the first in the funeral service industry. Since then, it has enhanced its asset management expertise by signing a business agreement with KB Asset Management. Based on KKR's investment, it plans to build an asset management and risk management system that meets international standards.
Prior to this transaction, at the end of last month, VIG successfully completed a 360 billion KRW acquisition financing capital restructuring arranged by Woori Bank. VIG plans to continue holding management control shares of FriedLife after this transaction and is expected to proceed with the sale of management rights later to maximize recovery value.
Hot Picks Today
!["Rather Than Endure a 1.5 Million KRW Stipend, I'd Rather Earn 500 Million in the U.S." Top Talent from SNU and KAIST Are Leaving [Scientists Are Disappearing] ①](https://cwcontent.asiae.co.kr/asiaresize/93/2026051914165468840_1779167814.png)
"Rather Than Endure a 1.5 Million KRW Stipend, I'd Rather Earn 500 Million in the U.S." Top Talent from SNU and KAIST Are Leaving [Scientists Are Disappearing] ①
- "Not Jealous of Winning the Lottery"... Entire Village Stunned as 200 Million Won Jackpot of Wild Ginseng Cluster Discovered at Jirisan
- "I'll Stop by Starbucks Tomorrow": People Power Chungbuk Committee and Geoje Mayoral Candidate Face Criticism for Alleged 5·18 Demeaning Remarks
- Russian Foreign Ministry "Hopes for Visit by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui This Year"
- "How Did an Employee Who Loved Samsung End Up Like This?"... Past Video of Samsung Electronics Union Chairman Resurfaces
Meanwhile, the domestic funeral service industry has been rapidly growing every year, recording 8.92 million subscribers as of the end of March. The size of advance payments (money received in advance from customers) also reached 9.4486 trillion KRW. As of the end of last month, FriedLife recorded a cumulative membership of 2.21 million, cumulative advance payments of 2.398 trillion KRW, and total assets of 2.76 trillion KRW.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
