EQT has agreed to sell Acuon Group, a South Korean financial platform, to a consortium led by Hanwha Life Insurance and private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners, as the Swedish investor exits the business after seven years.
The deal, which remains subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, involves EQT BPEA Private Equity Fund VII, according to a statement.
Acuon comprises Acuon Capital and Acuon Savings Bank, providing corporate, commercial and retail financing in South Korea. The group has about 10 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in total assets, according to the statement.
Acuon Capital is South Korea’s largest independent capital company, while Acuon Savings Bank, established in 1972, ranks fifth among the country’s savings banks by total lending assets.
Hanwha Life, part of Hanwha Group, will lead the new ownership group alongside Centroid PE, bringing Acuon under a strategic owner with an existing presence in Korea’s financial-services sector.
EQT acquired Acuon in 2019, targeting growth in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and retail customers. During its ownership, EQT said it strengthened the company’s corporate governance, upgraded its digital infrastructure and enhanced underwriting and risk-management capabilities.
The group has also accelerated its digital transformation. Acuon Savings Bank is one of three savings banks in Korea operating a Java-based core banking system, while its mobile application has more than 1 million subscribers. Consumer loan origination has been fully digitised, with data analytics, AI-based credit scoring and automation cutting loan disbursement times to less than five minutes from about 36 hours, EQT said.
The transaction marks another exit by a global private equity investor in South Korea, where financial institutions have increasingly sought to use technology to improve lending and operating efficiency.
“Our partnership with Acuon reflects our approach in Korea and across Asia: working with strong local businesses and investing in the technology and institutional capabilities that support long-term growth,” Dayea Yeon, head of private capital Korea at EQT, said in the statement.
Acuon Chief Executive Officer Jungmu Lee said the company had built a more agile and customer-focused platform during EQT’s ownership and would seek to build on those gains under its new shareholders.
EQT was advised by UBS, Citigroup and Shin&Kim.
