Transaction includes participation from
Wellington Management
MUSINSA, an online fashion platform in South Korea, and KKR, a
leading global investment firm, today announced the signing of
definitive agreements under which funds managed by KKR will lead
the US$190 million Series C fundraise of MUSINSA (the “Company”),
with participation from Wellington Management, one of the world’s
largest independent investment management firms.
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the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230713401193/en/
Founded in 2001 as an online sneaker community, MUSINSA is today
an online fashion marketplace in South Korea that features more
than 8,000 local and foreign designer brands and an in-house brand
(musinsa standard), anchoring the creator economy for fashion in
South Korea. Over the years, MUSINSA has expanded to include a
comprehensive ecosystem including communities, a brand incubator
(MUSINSA PARTNERS), a direct-to-consumer brand operator, and an
offline multicultural lounge (musinsa terrace) that allows for
offline interactions with its customers and provides online-based
fashion brands with a physical space for pop-up stores. In 2023,
Fast Company named MUSINSA as among the “10 most innovative Asia
Pacific companies of 2023” for “globalizing K-fashion.”1
This transaction marks KKR’s first technology growth investment
in Korea as part of its Asia Next Generation Technology (“NGT”)
strategy, which seeks to support the growth of innovative,
disruptive companies in Asia Pacific across key themes, including
software, consumer technology and FinTech.
Mukul Chawla, Partner and Head of Growth Equity, Asia Pacific
for KKR, said, “MUSINSA has developed itself as a top consumer
Internet platform in Korea and a differentiated marketplace by its
ability to scale rising brands, enable the creator economy for
fashion, engage and provide a high-quality e-commerce experience
for customers. We see enormous opportunity for MUSINSA to build on
its leading position in a fast-growing K-fashion market that
continues to shift online and expand globally on the back of
K-culture’s explosive reach. We are excited to partner with the
management team and look to leverage KKR’s global network,
operational expertise, and deep technology experience to take
MUSINSA to its next phase of growth.”
Munil Han, CEO of MUSINSA, said, “We are delighted to
welcome global investors of KKR and Wellington’s caliber, which we
see as a recognition of the quality of MUSINSA’s platform, and the
potential of the Korean online fashion market. With this latest
investment, MUSINSA looks to continue scaling our platform and
creating new standards of success in the online and offline markets
with domestic and foreign brands.”
This Series C is the Company’s third fundraise and follows its
successful KRW 130 billion won Series B round in 2021 and KRW 100
billion won Series A round in 2019.
KKR makes its investment as part of its Asia NGT strategy and
from funds managed by KKR. Other investments from the strategy
include Lenskart, an omni-channel eyewear retailer in India;
Advanced Navigation, a developer of AI-powered robotics and
navigation technology in Australia; Privy, a digital identity
provider in Indonesia; GrowSari, a business-to-business e-commerce
platform serving small-and-medium enterprises (“SMEs”) in the
Philippines; KiotViet, a software platform for SMEs in Vietnam; and
NetStars, the operator of Japan’s largest QR code payment gateway.
Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed.
****
About MUSINSA MUSINSA is one of the largest online and
offline fashion business companies in Korea, and offers more than
8,000 domestic and foreign brands, including young casual, street,
contemporary, formal, sports, and luxury, etc. The company has more
than 13 million members and recorded annual GMV of more than KRW 3
trillion won (US$2.35 billion) as of 2022. MUSINSA strives to
expand the diversity of the fashion ecosystem based on the core
value that the success of partner brands is our success. The
company operates a fashion-specialized venture capital subsidiary
to energize new brands with great potential to take a step forward
in growth. MUSINSA has a diverse business portfolio, including its
core service Musinsa Store, online lifestyle select shop 29CM,
online re-sell platform soldout, and in-house fashion brand musinsa
standard. Currently, MUSINSA, which has unrivaled influence as the
No. 1 in the online fashion market in Korea, is concentrating on
strengthening its capabilities to exert itself in the offline
fashion business as well. MUSINSA is also operating a 'global
store' that is available in 13 overseas countries, including Asia,
America, and Oceania, to help small and medium-sized Korean brands
advance overseas and to provide a point of contact for meeting
global customers who are interested in Korean fashion. Since
investing in the Envisioning Climate Solution Fund, MUSINSA has
continuously paid attention to various social issues, including
climate change, and is concentrating on fulfilling its social
responsibilities as Korea's leading fashion company.
About KKR KKR is a leading global investment firm that
offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and
insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment
returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach,
employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its
portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds
that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has
strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance
subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under
the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to
KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds
and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR
& Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at
www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
About Wellington Management Wellington Management is one
of the world’s largest independent investment management firms,
serving as a trusted adviser to over 2,500 clients in more than 60
countries. The firm manages more than US$1 trillion for clients,
including pensions, endowments and foundations, insurers, and
global wealth managers. Wellington offers investment solutions that
span global equity, fixed income, currency, commodity,
alternatives, and private markets. Wellington Private Investing has
raised nearly US$8 billion in global assets and invests in
early-stage venture through late-stage growth across multiple
sectors (consumer, technology, health care, financial services,
biotechnology, and climate technology) and geographies (Asia,
Europe, and the Americas). The Private Investing Team leverages
Wellington’s 1,000+ investment professionals around the world,
combining deep private market experience with public market
expertise, extensive networks, and robust research to benefit both
investors and entrepreneurs. For more on Wellington Private
Investing, please visit wellington.com/privateinvesting.
1 Fast Company (February 2023). The 10 most innovative
Asia-Pacific companies of 2023.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230713401193/en/
Media For MUSINSA: MUSINSA Public Relations Team +82 10
8921 8381 team-pr@musinsa.com For KKR: Wei Jun Ong +65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com For Wellington Management: Robyn Tice 617 289
6739 rtice@wellington.com
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