Top 5 Private Equity Firms Leading Korea's M&A Market (2026)

Which PE Firms Led Korea's M&A Market in 2024-2025?

M&A Market Rebounds, PE Makes Its Return

In 2025, Korea's M&A market entered a full-scale growth phase, achieving its best performance in four years.

According to The Bell League Table, a total of 690 deals worth approximately KRW 88.9 trillion were completed throughout 2025, representing an increase of over KRW 39 trillion compared to the previous year. Notably, 18 Large-Scale Deals exceeding KRW 1 trillion drove the market's revival.

At the center of this transformation were Private Equity (PE) firms. After a slowdown caused by liquidity constraints and rising interest rates, PE firms regained momentum in H2 2024, closing a series of trillion-won deals.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the activities of the TOP 5 PE firms that attracted the most attention in Korea's M&A market from 2024 to 2025, and examines the key trends that will shape the market in 2026.

1. IMM PE · IMM Investment: Emerging as the 'New Owner' of the Environmental Industry

The IMM Private Equity (PE) and IMM Investment consortium established a dominant presence in Korea's M&A market in 2024. They completed the largest M&A transaction of 2024 by acquiring Ecorbit, Korea's largest comprehensive environmental company, for approximately KRW 2.07 trillion. This landmark deal, the largest in the history of Korea's waste treatment industry, signaled IMM's emergence as a major force in the environmental sector.

Ecorbit maintains a business portfolio spanning the entire waste treatment spectrum, including water treatment, incineration, and landfill operations, and recorded revenues of KRW 699.6 billion and EBITDA of KRW 225 billion as of end-2023.

Through the Ecorbit acquisition, the IMM consortium established itself as a core player in Korea's environmental industry and secured strategic advantage amid the trend of ESG management becoming a core market value.

An IMM consortium official stated, "As the importance of ESG continues to grow, we will transform Ecorbit into a future-oriented company leading the environmental business through digital transformation and eco-friendly technology adoption."

IMM announced plans to expand its recycling business and strengthen its Value Chain through a Bolt-on strategy of acquiring similar companies following the Ecorbit acquisition.

In fact, as of December 2025, IMM is pursuing the acquisition of K-Eco, a waste treatment company, with negotiations reportedly underway at approximately KRW 140 billion. This demonstrates that IMM has a long-term vision for the environmental industry and is evolving beyond a simple financial investor (FI) into a strategic investor seeking to integrate the entire industry Value Chain.

2. Hahn & Company: 'Master of Large-Scale Deals', Strengthening Semiconductor and Materials Portfolio

Hahn & Company was selected as 'House of the Year' at the 2025 Bell League Table Awards, once again proving itself as Korea's premier PEF operator.

This award is given to the Private Equity firm that demonstrated the most outstanding performance across all areas including acquisitions and exits throughout the year. Hahn & Company attracted industry attention by successfully acquiring SK Specialty for KRW 2.7008 trillion, the largest buyout Deal of 2025.

A look at Hahn & Company's major deals highlights their strategic focus on industrial restructuring linked to large corporations divesting non-core business units. Following their 2022 acquisition of SKC's film business unit (now SKC Future Materials) for KRW 1.6 trillion, they added SK Specialty to their portfolio in 2025, establishing a strong position in the semiconductor and materials sectors.

These Large-Scale Deals by Hahn & Company reflect the strategic shift of major conglomerates, including SK Group, to divest non-core businesses and focus on future growth drivers. SK Inc. recovered five times the amount it paid when acquiring SK Specialty ten years ago, presenting a restructuring model that creates a win-win situation for both large corporations and PE firms.

Hahn & Company raised acquisition financing for the SKC film business unit at an interest rate in the low 7% range, and in November 2024, pursued refinancing of the acquisition financing, increasing the borrowing scale from the initial KRW 300 billion to KRW 900 billion, demonstrating aggressive financial strategy.

3. E&F Private Equity: Persistent Investment by an 'Environmental Specialist PE'

E&F Private Equity (PE) is a prime example of a sector-specialist firm, having carved out a distinct niche in the environmental industry. In 2022, they once again made their presence felt in the market by acquiring KG ETS's environmental business division for approximately KRW 540 billion.

Since its establishment in 2014, E&F PE has invested in over ten environmental companies, building an unparalleled track record in this field.

The key to E&F PE's success lies in CEO Lim Tae-ho's deep understanding and expertise in the industry. CEO Lim, a former Samsung Electronics researcher with prior experience at Woori Investment & Securities and Daewoo Securities Infrastructure PE, possesses the unique strength of understanding both the technical and financial aspects of the environmental business based on his engineering background.

This expertise has translated into investment performance, with E&F PE successfully exiting Yeongheung Industrial Environment, Inseon ENT, Daewon Green Energy, and Saehan Environment, recording high returns of around 20% IRR (Internal Rate of Return).

Notably, Daewon Green Energy was acquired for KRW 20 billion in 2018 and sold to SK Ecoplant for KRW 60 billion in 2021, achieving a 3x return, while Saehan Environment was acquired for KRW 90 billion and sold to SK Ecoplant for KRW 97 billion just nine months later, realizing high returns in a short period.

E&F PE has established a stable growth foundation through close cooperative relationships with strategic investors (SI) such as IS Dongseo, and successfully completed the acquisition of KG ETS's environmental business division using its KRW 530 billion second blind fund raised in 2021.

4. Ascent PE: 'Rising Star', Hitting Home Runs from the First Fund

Ascent PE, despite being a newly established operator founded in 2018, has emerged as the market's dark horse by demonstrating remarkable performance.

In February 2026, Ascent PE is set to complete its first blind fund of KRW 130 billion, exceeding its target of KRW 120 billion. Despite being a first fund, it secured major institutional limited partners (LPs) including Saemaul Geumgo (a Korean community-based credit union federation, KRW 40 billion) and Korea Development Bank (KRW 35 billion), proving high market confidence.

Ascent PE's investment capabilities shone through the AetherCity investment. The firm acquired AetherCity, a hydrogen fuel cell company, for approximately KRW 55 billion in 2020 and sold it to Duksan Hi-Metal of Duksan Group for approximately KRW 305 billion in 2023, achieving approximately 5.5x returns. This successful exit, achieved in just three years, firmly established Ascent PE's reputation in the market.

Ascent PE is a subsidiary of ACPC, which specializes in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) and M&A advisory, and possesses the strength of leveraging its parent company's Deal sourcing capabilities and network. Beyond AetherCity, the firm co-invested in Willbs ENT with Welltoo C&Investment and sold management rights to the Kiwoom Capital·Lotus PE·Dominus Investment consortium for a KRW 177 billion valuation in 2023, recording 30% IRR, accumulating multiple successful investment records in a short period.

5. Ium PE: Successful Leap to 'Mid-Tier PE'

Ium Private Equity (Ium PE) is a prime example of a firm that has successfully scaled from a smaller player to a mid-tier PE house through steady growth. Following the successful formation of its first standalone blind fund of KRW 420 billion in 2021 after several trials, it completed the formation of a KRW 540 billion second blind fund at the end of 2025, successfully achieving a 'size jump'.

The industry typically classifies firms managing funds of KRW 500 billion (approx. USD 380 million) or more as mid-tier PE. Ium PE successfully completed its second fund formation based on the trust of major institutional LPs including Noran Usan Mutual Aid (a mutual aid fund for small business owners, approximately KRW 70 billion), Korea Development Bank (KRW 95 billion), Korea Growth Finance, and IBK Industrial Bank, solidifying its position as a mid-tier PE.

Particularly, being selected as a General Partner (GP) for its generalist fund along with Stonebridge Capital and Genesis Private Equity in Noran Usan Mutual Aid's December 2025 regular investment project is evidence that the market has recognized Ium PE's organizational stability, blind fund management experience, and fund expansion potential.

Ium PE has accumulated a stable track record centered on mid-sized deals across various industries including environment and energy, materials, and bio. Its flagship blind fund, 'IBK-Ium Global Strong Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund No. 1 PEF', proved high performance by recording double-digit IRR, and pursues a strategy of combining management participation-type investments and growth capital investments targeting mid-sized and small-to-medium enterprises based on a management participation structure. This strategy has led to stable exit performance, providing the foundation for Ium PE's growth into a mid-tier PE.

Three Keywords That Will Drive the M&A Market in 2026

The trajectory of the TOP 5 PE firms examined above provides important clues for predicting the direction of Korea's M&A market in 2026.

1. Rise of the Environment and Infrastructure Sector

IMM PE's acquisition of Ecorbit (KRW 2.07 trillion) and E&F PE's acquisition of KG ETS's environmental business division (KRW 540 billion) demonstrate that environmental and infrastructure-related assets have emerged as core targets in the M&A market, aligned with ESG management trends. As the government's carbon neutrality policies and corporate ESG management strengthening converge, investment in environment-related companies such as waste treatment, recycling, and hydrogen fuel cells is expected to continue expanding in 2026.

2. Expansion of Blind Fund Formation

The successful fundraising by Ascent PE (KRW 130 billion) and Ium PE (KRW 540 billion) suggests that market liquidity is recovering and LP investment sentiment has improved. As PE fund formation becomes more active along with the interest rate reduction trend, investment targeting mid-sized and small-to-medium enterprises with high growth potential is expected to become more vigorous. Particularly, as mid-tier PEs' 'size jumps' gain momentum, the trend of KRW 300-500 billion mid-tier funds becoming the new standard will become more pronounced.

3. Acceleration of Industrial Restructuring

Hahn & Company's acquisitions of SK Specialty (KRW 2.7008 trillion) and SKC film business unit (KRW 1.6 trillion) demonstrate that Large-Scale Deals restructuring deals—where large corporations divest non-core business units to focus on core competencies and PE firms acquire them to enhance corporate value—will continue to dominate the market. Particularly, as major corporations' portfolio reorganization accelerates in industrial sectors such as semiconductors, materials, and chemicals, trillion-won Large-Scale Deals are expected to occur more frequently.

You Can Also Discover the Opportunities Seized by TOP 5 PE Firms Through Data and Expert Insights

The winners of the 2024-2025 M&A market examined above share a common trait: they anticipated trends in rapidly changing sectors such as environment, semiconductors, and hydrogen ahead of others, and identified clear upsides through precise valuations even within trillion-won Large-Scale Deals.

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References

The Bell (2026.01.27). "M&A Market Flooded with Large-Scale Deals, 'Hahn & Company' Shines Brightest"

Dealsite (2024.12.13). "IMM Consortium Completes Ecorbit Acquisition"

Kim & Chang Law Firm. "KKR's Sale of Ecorbit"

Market In (2025.12.18). "IMM PE's Ecorbit in Final Negotiations for K-Eco Acquisition"

Yonhap News (2022.12.02). "Hahn & Company Completes Acquisition of SKC Film Business Unit"

Investment Chosun (2024.11.04). "Hahn & Company Pursues Recap of SKC Film Business Acquisition Financing"

Seoul Economic Signal (2022.06.20). "E&F PE Stands Tall as Powerhouse in Waste Treatment Industry"

E-Today (2026.01.29). "Ascent PE 'Oversubscribes' First Blind Fund with KRW 120 Billion Target…Closing Next Month"

Ascent PE Official Website (2024.01.15). "Ascent PE Sells Hydrogen Cylinder Company AetherCity for KRW 305 Billion"

News Top (2025.12.24). "Ium PE Surpasses KRW 500 Billion Under Noran Usan"

Daum News (2026.01.08). "Mid-Cap Market Intensifies from New Year…Major Mid-Sized PEFs Complete Funding"