 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL, August 19, 2025 — The forced divestment of CGI Holdings, CJ CGV’s intermediate holding company for its Asian operations, is moving forward as financial investors (FIs) MBK Partners and Mirae Asset Securities Private Equity have set the minimum sale price at USD 400 million (KRW 554.8 billion). If no buyer emerges at or above this threshold, the sale is expected to collapse.
According to investment banking sources, CJ CGV notified the FIs last month that it valued CGI Holdings at USD 400 million on a 100% equity basis and expressed its intention to acquire their stake under a right of first offer (ROFO) clause. The move is in line with contractual rights CJ CGV previously secured, and was also disclosed in its semiannual report.
MBK Partners and Mirae Asset initially invested KRW 333.6 billion in CGI Holdings in 2019, securing various rights including a drag-along clause, which allows them to force the sale of shares if CGI Holdings failed to go public (IPO) by a certain date. In contrast, CJ CGV retained a call option and ROFO rights to acquire the FI stake prior to any drag-along exercise.
CJ CGV partially exercised its call option last year, paying KRW 126.3 billion to MBK and Mirae Asset. When the option window reopened this year, CJ CGV again moved to exercise its ROFO last month, but the offer was rejected. Following the rejection, the FIs triggered the drag-along right and launched the sale of 100% of CGI Holdings’ equity. Because the FI side rejected CJ CGV’s USD 400 million bid, the stake must now be sold to an external buyer at a price no lower than this benchmark.
The dispute arises against a backdrop of shifting industry dynamics: global OTT (over-the-top) streaming services continue to expand while the cinema business struggles. After CGI Holdings failed to pursue an IPO, both CJ CGV and the FIs have exercised their contractual rights in sequence, each aiming to maximize recovery of their investments.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
