Centroide grows to 2.7 trillion in assets under management... Large-scale recruitment of top industry talent

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[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] Centroide Investment Partners, which has risen to become a top 10 mid-sized asset management company in Korea following the acquisition of TaylorMade, is strengthening its expertise by recruiting numerous specialists across various fields. Before acquiring TaylorMade, Centroide Investment Partners managed total assets under management (AUM) of 395 billion KRW, which has now grown to approximately 2.6696 trillion KRW.

◇ Establishment of Real Estate Investment Division = Jeong Hee-taek, CEO leading Centroide’s real estate division, previously worked as an acquisition portfolio manager at the U.S.-based private equity firm LaSalle Investment Management. He later served as the lead portfolio manager for Korea’s first private real estate blind fund, the Credit Fund (worth 500 billion KRW, managed by Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management).

A flagship project, the State Tower Namsan development, is recognized as a successful case that overcame locational disadvantages in Hoehyeon-dong through a differentiated development strategy. It consecutively set record-high transaction prices for office buildings in Korea and downtown areas. With 1.5 trillion KRW of development asset investment experience over the past 20 years, he is widely acknowledged for his expertise in real estate development.

CEO Jeong decided to take charge of Centroide’s real estate division alongside the acquisition of South Springs CC. Centroide officially launched its real estate division in October 2021, following the revision of the Capital Markets Act that permitted real estate investments. The real estate division is currently undertaking a development project worth 400 billion KRW, including logistics centers, on 180,000 pyeong of idle land owned by South Springs CC. Additionally, it is reviewing multiple development site investments in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, with plans to actively expand investment scale in the future.

◇ Establishment of Overseas Investment Division = In August last year, Centroide established an overseas investment division to expand TaylorMade’s post-merger integration (PMI) and overseas investments. They hired Shin Kang-min, former executive director from Macquarie, as head of the overseas investment division and dispatched him to California, USA. Shin worked at Macquarie for 15 years, managing real estate and infrastructure funds as well as real estate equity investments. His major projects included equity investment in Cheongna Bears Best Golf Course, advisory roles for the development of CJ CheilJedang building in Ssangnim-dong and Pungsan building in Chungjeong-ro, and Macquarie’s onshore and offshore fundraising.

With extensive field experience, Shin possesses comprehensive know-how and financial knowledge covering all core areas required by asset management firms (investment advisory, capital raising, and investment execution). As head of Centroide Investment Partners’ overseas investment division, he plans to play a key role in executing investments and managing investment assets in overseas core assets and companies. Recently, as part of TaylorMade’s PMI, Shin successfully led the refinancing of approximately 1.2 trillion KRW in senior debt.

◇ Recruitment of Park Byung-kwon, Former Executive Director at Kim & Chang = Attorney Park Byung-kwon, after completing the 36th Judicial Research and Training Institute and serving as a military legal officer, joined Kim & Chang law firm in 2010. Over 12 years, he specialized in corporate mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate governance and management disputes, and corporate finance. Park advised numerous private equity funds on M&A and led projects involving restructuring governance of major domestic conglomerates at Kim & Chang.

Starting with Solid ENG, acquired by Centroide in December 2017, Park provided legal advisory services for most of Centroide’s buyout transactions, including TaylorMade, Kolon Fiber, and Woongjin Booksen.

He also directly handled legal advisory during investment exit processes and portfolio company legal matters, giving him the highest level of understanding of Centroide’s entire acquisition and divestiture processes.

Since February this year, Park has joined Centroide Investment Partners as Managing Partner of the Investment Division, overseeing the division. Leveraging his experience at Kim & Chang, he is expected to play a crucial role in legal advisory and investment execution during new investments, including investment structuring, corporate governance establishment, mergers and acquisitions, management rights acquisition, portfolio company operations, and investment exits.

◇ Appointment of CEO for South Springs = Centroide Investment appointed CEO Jo Ik-jin as head of South Springs CC, acquired in March 2021. Jo has 22 years of experience at IMM Investment, managing companies and assets across various industries, and is successfully operating South Springs CC based on his extensive expertise.

While at IMM Investment, Jo served as CFO for Daewon C&M, Hyundai LNG Shipping, and Midas, all acquired by IMM. Based on his diverse operational experience, he will be responsible for PMI, management, and operational strategy not only for South Springs CC but also for other portfolio companies and assets currently held or to be acquired by Centroide.

◇ Establishment of Legal Team (Compliance) = Centroide strengthened its legal capabilities and compliance system by recruiting two domestic attorneys. The in-house legal team was established in August 2021, shortly after acquiring TaylorMade Golf.

Unlike other asset managers that typically only review investment contracts, Centroide’s legal team handles all transaction structuring, supports legal due diligence, addresses legal issues of acquired companies, and assists in establishing executive incentive systems, actively collaborating with deal and operating teams on detailed PMI tasks.

Leading Centroide’s legal team, Attorney Lee So-young graduated from Sungkyunkwan University School of Law and passed the 3rd bar exam. She worked in Hyundai Motor Company’s international legal team, managing legal risk reviews for various international transactions and handling overseas disputes. She later gained diverse corporate legal experience at ABB Power Grid Korea, a foreign company.

Attorney Kim Jin-won, who passed the 10th bar exam, joined Centroide in January this year. He is responsible for reviewing legal risks related to each investment and target company, as well as managing risks by reviewing derivative contracts arising from funds under management.

Meanwhile, Centroide Investment Partners currently has 17 members. Through comprehensive recruitment of middle and back-office personnel, it has strengthened management of existing private equity funds and responsiveness to investor requests.

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