POBA commits $140 mn to four Korean buyout, growth equity firms

Huh Jang, chief investment officer of the Public Officials Benefit Association, speaks at ASK 2025 on May 22

The Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA), a retirement fund for South Korean municipal and provincial government officials, has decided to commit a total of 200 billion won ($140 million) to four private equity firms — VIG Partners, Keistone Partners, Genesis Private Equity and KCGI – for buyout and growth strategies targeting domestic firms, according to investment banking sources last week.

The selected firms are required to launch their respective funds within one year.

This marks POBA’s first mandate to homegrown private equity firms since it selected MBK Partners, SG Private Equity and H&Q Asia Pacific Korea in 2019 for domestic private equity strategies.

Later this year, POBA also plans to allocate new capital to Korean venture capital firms, following its 100 billion won ($70 million) commitment in 2024 to four local VC firms – DSC Investment, Aju IB Investment, Korea Investment Partners and IMM Investment in 2024.

The new deployment is expected to match the size of the 2024 commitment, according to the sources.

By Gyeong-Jin Min

min@hankyung.com 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.

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