KKR has agreed to acquire a 38% stake in Hyundai Global Service (HGS) – a company spun out of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH) in 2016 – for a total of KRW800bn (€653m).

KKR’s investment amounts to a pre-initial public offering valuation of approximately KRW2trn (US$1.8bn).

HHIH is a one-stop consulting, engineering and maintenance provider in global marine-services logistics.

Hyoung Seok Lim and Chung Ho Park, co-leads of KKR Korea, said KKR’s partnership with HHIH, the world’s leading shipbuilder, would help support HGS and its management team to continue its growth trajectory in the marine engineering, consulting and services sector globally.

An official at HHIH said that, building on KKR’s investment, HGS would focus on fostering new businesses – such as robots, artificial intelligence and carbon energy – as a holding company.

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