https://www.hankyung.com/article/2024112823631
Nov 29 2024, 18:10 KST
Bang Si-hyuk and Private Equity Funds' 'Profit Sharing'
"Will Also Look Into Allegations of Unfair Trading"
Financial authorities have decided to investigate potential violations of the Capital Markets Act during HYBE's past listing process. This comes after this newspaper's report revealed that Bang Si-hyuk, HYBE's chairman, and private equity funds (PEFs) had signed a shareholders' agreement to share investment profits from HYBE.
Refer to November 29 issue, pages A1, 3
A high-ranking official at the Financial Supervisory Service said on the 29th, "We plan to immediately investigate potential violations of the Capital Markets Act surrounding HYBE and Chairman Bang," adding, "There are many aspects to examine, from the PEFs' acquisition of HYBE shares before listing to possible omissions of important matters in the securities registration statement." The official also added, "We will closely examine not only the appropriateness of the listing procedure but also whether there were any unfair trading practices during this process."
Chairman Bang signed agreements with three PEFs 1-2 years before HYBE's 2020 listing, stipulating that he would receive about 30% of investment profits under the condition of 'conducting an Initial Public Offering (IPO) within a certain period.' However, this contract was not disclosed during the listing process. The PEFs sold their shares in large quantities from the first day of listing without lock-up restrictions, and Chairman Bang received approximately 400 billion won from these PEFs.
An FSS official stated, "We will examine whether the non-disclosure of the shareholders' agreement was appropriate from an investor protection perspective," adding, "We will also look into what intentions there might have been if it's true that HYBE told existing shareholders before the PEFs that there were 'no plans for listing.'"
Reporter Cho Jin-hyung [email protected] Reporter Kim Ik-hwan [email protected]