On June 30, financial sources reported that EQT Partners, the largest shareholder of Aqueon Capital, has selected Hanwha Life as the preferred bidder.
The sale involves EQT Partners' 96.06% stake in Aqueon Capital, which fully owns Aqueon Savings Bank.
EQT Partners initiated the sale process last year by appointing Citigroup Global Markets and UBS as advisors. In March, Hanwha Life, Meritz Financial, and Baikal Investment participated in the preliminary bidding, while the final bidding earlier this month included only Hanwha Life and Meritz Financial.
Industry insiders believe that Hanwha Life's plan to acquire both Aqueon Capital and Aqueon Savings Bank influenced its selection as the preferred bidder. In contrast, Meritz Financial reportedly expressed interest only in Aqueon Capital, excluding Aqueon Savings Bank.
Once the acquisition is finalized, Hanwha Life is expected to expand its capital operations and gain momentum in the savings bank sector. As of the end of last year, Aqueon Capital had total assets of approximately 9 trillion won, while Aqueon Savings Bank had assets around 5 trillion won.
A financial industry official stated, "Although Hanwha Life owns Hanwha Savings Bank, its scale is not large, so this acquisition is likely to create synergies."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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