Korean heavyweights Kim & Chang and Bae Kim & Lee have helped LG Household & Health Care acquire cosmetics brand The Face Shop Korea for US$363m.
Kim & Chang partner Han-Woo Park advised LG Household & Health Care on all sides of the M&A transaction – from the negotiation stage to the regulatory approvals.
Four lawyers from Bae Kim & Lee – Ri Bong Han, Sang Goo Lee, Jun Kul Yoo and Mok Hong Kim – advised longstanding client Affinity Equity Partners, the owners of The Faceshop Korea. Affinity has been a major client of the firm since 2005, when it sought advice on the mezzanine financing of its 70% stake acquisition of the Face Shop. It also scooped a role on the sale of Affinity’s shares in Himart to Eugene Corporation in 2008 – one of the biggest M&A transactions in Korea that year.
Asia’s cosmetics industry is gearing up for significant investments overseas, as it seeks to gain a market share in the west. LG Household & Health Care’s main local rival, Amore Pacific, has said that it is planning to develop its brand overseas rather than in the domestic market, and the acquisition of US brand Bare Escentuals by Japan’s Shiseido took place in January.
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