We buy founder-owned Korean companies and help them grow
Daebak Capital buys control of profitable companies from the people who built them, works with their managers for about five years, and sells to the next owner.
See what we look for- 2013
- Founded in Seoul
- 5
- Buyout funds, 2014 to 2026
- US$3.7bn
- Committed across Funds I to V
- ~5 years
- Planned hold per company
What we look for
Today: Daebak Equity V (2026 vintage)
- EBITDA
- US$10m to US$50m
- Enterprise value
- US$80m to US$500m
- Equity per company
- US$40m to US$250m, up to 12.5% of the fund
- Add-ons
- Any size
- Geography
- Platforms: companies based in Korea. Add-ons: Korea
- Ownership
- Control; a founder or management may keep a minority stake
- Situations
- Founder succession, family-owned companies taking their first institutional capital, recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs, management buyouts and buy-ins
- Sectors
- Consumer and services; industrials
Earlier: Daebak Equity III (2020 vintage)
- Deal size
- US$5m to US$100m
- Examples
- Sunrise (US$5.6m invested: US$4.2m purchase plus US$1.4m growth capital), Hanil Widget Works (EV US$39.84m), Tamna Home Services (EV US$100m)
- Status
- Harvesting; no new platform investments
Portfolio collection
Deal one
Deal two · 2022
Deal three · 2023
70% owned
Where we invest
For founders thinking about what comes next
Most of our companies are bought from the people who built them. Some founders sell everything; others keep a share and stay on.
Succession
Baek Jun-ho sold Hanil Widget Works after forty years and rolled 20% of his proceeds into the new company.
Growth capital
Mina Song sold Sunrise to Daebak, and US$1.4m of the funding paid for a plan to open five new shops.
A clean sale
Tamna's founder sold the whole company, which had no debt, for US$100m.
Owner guides
What is EBITDA?
Buyers price most companies on EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Know your number before a buyer does.
Rolling over equity
A founder can sell most of the company and keep a share, as Baek Jun-ho did at Hanil, and gain again when we sell.
How much debt is sensible?
A common starting point is debt the company can still pay in a bad year.
For bankers, brokers and advisers
Send us companies that fit the criteria below. We reply to every teaser within two weeks, and we say no quickly when a deal does not fit.
Origination
Henry Park, Partner (industrials): [email protected]. Grace Yoon, Managing Partner (consumer and services): [email protected]. Telephone +82 2 0000 0000.
Active searches
Add-ons for Tamna Home Services: home-repair shops. Add-ons for Hanil Widget Works: makers of precision parts.
Submit an opportunity
Use the contact form and choose "An intermediary: submit an opportunity".
Fact sheet
Open the one-page fact sheet with our criteria and contacts.
How we work after closing
The Daebak 100-Day Plan
Operating Partner Victor Lee works with management on a written plan, starting with cash, pricing and the people who hold key customer relationships.
Add-ons
Our companies buy smaller businesses. Tamna's plan includes repair-shop add-ons with EBITDA of about US$1.5m for about US$6.75m, funded from its own cash and a small facility.
Sensible debt
A common starting point is debt the company can pay in a bad year. Each company's lenders lend to that company's HoldCo and have no claim on the fund.
The Operators Bench
A network of former chief executives, finance chiefs and plant managers who advise our companies, led by Victor Lee.
Shared upside
Managers' units give the management team a share of the gain above a hurdle, so they earn more when owners earn more.
| Company | Sector | Fund | Invested | Region | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | Consumer and services | Equity III, deal one | US$5.6m, all equity | Korea | Current |
| Tamna Home Services | Consumer and services | Equity III, deal two (2022) | US$45m equity | Korea | Current; add-ons planned; exit planned 2027 |
| Hanil Widget Works | Industrials | Equity III, deal three (2023) | US$16.25m equity | Korea | Current; founder holds a minority stake |
| Hana Kitchen Supply | Consumer and services | Daebak, 70% owned | Not stated | Korea | Current; 3 of 5 board seats |
| Fund I teaching portfolio | Ten hypothetical companies, not named | Equity I (2014) | Not stated | Not stated | All sold. Classroom illustration: US$85m invested, 2.08x gross, about 1.61x net |
In their words
Mina Song, Sunrise
"I wanted the shops to keep the same food and grow. Daebak paid me fairly and funded a plan for five new shops."
Baek Jun-ho, Hanil Widget Works
"After forty years I needed a successor. Keeping a share lets me watch Hanil's next chapter."
Daniel Kang
Co-founded Daebak Capital in 2013 and chairs the investment committee.
Grace Yoon
Co-founded Daebak Capital in 2013 and led the investments in Sunrise and Tamna Home Services.
Henry Park
Led the investment in Hanil Widget Works.
Victor Lee
Runs the 100-day plan with each new company, from Tamna's add-on plan to Hanil's first months.
Claire Choi
Runs fund accounting, capital calls and the annual audit.
Helen Oh
Works with our limited partners and led the Fund V raise.
Jeonghee Shin
Joined to work on Sunrise, the first deal she led from the start.
A Seoul buyout firm, founded in 2013 by Daniel Kang and Grace Yoon
We raise a new fund about every three years, and each is larger than the last.
| Fund | Vintage | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Equity I | 2014 | US$100m |
| Equity II | 2017 | US$200m |
| Equity III | 2020 | US$400m |
| Equity IV | 2023 | US$1,000m |
| Equity V | 2026 | US$2,000m |
Each fund is a ten-year partnership. Our limited partners commit the capital; our general partner decides what to buy and when to sell; Daebak Capital Management Co. employs the team.
Announcements
Daebak closes flagship fund Equity V at US$2bn, double its predecessor
Equity V, our fifth buyout fund, closed at US$2,000m. Equity IV closed at US$1,000m in 2023.
Tamna Home Services sets out its add-on plan
The plan adds repair shops with EBITDA of about US$1.5m, funded from Tamna's own cash and a small facility.
Equity III acquires Hanil Widget Works
Founder Baek Jun-ho rolls 20% of his proceeds into the new company.
Equity III acquires Tamna Home Services
A price of US$100m plus US$5m of deal fees, funded with US$45m of equity and US$60m of debt.
Our limited partners
Pensions, insurers, endowments and family offices commit to our funds. Our investors include Hanbit Public Employees Pension and Dongbaek Life Assurance.
Talk to us
- Office
- Daebak Capital, Seoul (fictional address)
- Telephone
- +82 2 0000 0000 (fictional)
- Daebak Capital (fictional page)