Kim & Chang represented EQT in its acquisition of KJ Environment and its affiliated companies from Genesis Private Equity (the majority seller) and the other minority sellers.

The transaction involved a package acquisition by EQT of multiple companies in the waste recycling and incineration sectors from several sellers. Our firm assisted EQT in all stages of the negotiations with each seller (including the alignment of interests of the minority shareholder sellers) with respect to the transaction documents and provided strategic advice and guidance to ensure a smooth transaction.

In particular, the transaction entailed various complex aspects, including the simultaneous conversion of multiple companies into a holding company structure at the time of closing, consideration of various legal issues arising from the relevant regulations in the permit and environment space, dealing with antitrust issues (considering the purchase of multiple entities in the same industry) and preparing the business combination report, all aspects of equity and debt financing, and overall structuring of the deal. We advised on all of these aspects and ultimately recommended the optimal transaction structure, which EQT adopted. In addition, our firm was involved in all aspects of the legal due diligence of numerous target entities and in all aspects of obtaining warranty and indemnity insurance for EQT.

The transaction involved a simultaneous acquisition by EQT of multiple independently operated companies (package of more than KRW 1 trillion). To streamline this extensive process, we demonstrated exceptional coordination, making sure that all share purchase agreements were executed concurrently, Warranty and Indemnity (“W&I”) insurance policies were timed with the underwriters so that inception would occur on signing and closing, and the holding company restructuring was smoothly implemented. In particular, our firm assisted EQT with the entire restructuring process of the target companies, which involved the conversion of one of the existing target companies as a holding company for the balance of the target companies, and provided comprehensive advice along the way on various compliance-related issues, particularly with respect to fair trade practices, tax obligations and regulatory issues (including on the Wastes Control Act).