Goldman Sachs bets $30 mil. to hidden champion

By Nam Hyun-woo

Goldman Sachs invested 34 billion won ($30 million) into Sun-in, a specialty bakery ingredients manufacturer, adding another medium-sized but strong Korean company to its portfolio.

According to the global investment bank, Wednesday, Sun-in will use the funds to enhance its manufacturing and distribution facilities as well as investing in its customer service technology.

In return for the investment, Goldman Sachs secured a 20 percent stake in the company, while Sun-in CEO and founder Hugo Lee will remain as the largest stakeholder.

Founded in 1987, Sun-in is a business bellwether of Korea. The company operates cold chain logistics businesses from production and import to storage and distribution.

Last year, the company posted 84.1 billion won in sales and 12.9 billion won in operating profit. For the past 10 years, its annual sales have grown an average of 16 percent.

Currently, Sun-in imports processes and produces more than 1,000 products which are supplied to upwards of 2,000 customers throughout Korea, including major bakeries, cafes, restaurants, confectionary makers, wholesalers and fast food franchises.

“This investment will further strengthen our leadership position in the marketplace and introduce new defining products to the market, as well as innovate through the use of technology to further cater to the needs of our clients,” Lee said.

“We look forward to leveraging Goldman Sachs’ experience and network in the global food industry to further enhance our operations and grow our company to the next level.”

The deal came as the latest investment by Goldman Sachs, which has invested over $4 billion in Korea since 1999. The investment bank has already included a series of budding firms to its Korea portfolio such as cookware and kitchen appliances maker Happycall and food delivery app operator Woowa Brothers.

“Sun-in is a local industry champion with significant further growth potential given the continuing diversification of diets and palates in Korea,” said Stephanie Hui, co-head of private equity at Goldman Sachs in Asia. “We look forward to bringing our strong global network and decades of experience in building global market leaders to the company.”