Kyobo Life Insurance has resolved its long-standing legal dispute with financial investors Affinity Equity Partners and GIC, the company announced on Friday. The agreement sees the investors offload their stakes in the South Korean life insurer, bringing an end to a seven-year legal battle over a put option.
Affinity sold its 9.05 percent stake, while GIC, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, divested its 4.5 percent stake. Industry sources estimate the shares were sold at approximately 234,000 won ($162) each.
“We are pleased to have reached a reasonable price that the market can accept,” said Kyobo Life co-CEO and President Cho Dae-kyu. “This allows Kyobo Life to focus more on driving its transition into a holding company and addressing future challenges.”
The settlement concludes a contentious period that began in October 2018 when the Affinity-led consortium exercised a put option. The investors demanded that Kyobo Life Chairman and CEO Shin Chang-jae repurchase their shares at 410,000 won per share. They argued that Shin had failed to take the company public by 2015, as promised, while Shin dismissed the claim as an excessive valuation.
The original agreement included a clause permitting investors to trigger a put option against Shin if Kyobo Life failed to go public within three years. The consortium, formed in 2012, acquired a 24 percent stake in Kyobo Life for 1.2 trillion won from Daewoo International. The final settlement appears to reflect factors such as Kyobo Life’s recent stock valuation, estimated at around 198,000 won, and dividends paid to investors over the past 13 years.
The dispute escalated to arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce, which ruled that Shin must repurchase the consortium’s shares at a fair market price. Kyobo Life has been undergoing a valuation process with external appraiser EY Hanyoung since the ICC’s second ruling in December.
Market analysts had anticipated a swift resolution following the successful exit of Affirma Capital, another Kyobo Life investor involved in a similar put option dispute, last month. Shin repurchased Affirma’s 5.33 percent stake at 198,000 won per share.
Industry insiders also suggest that the leadership of CEO Charles Min at Affinity Korea, who took office in 2023, may have helped facilitate these negotiations.
“We have reached a reasonable agreement through ongoing discussions aimed at benefiting all stakeholders,” Min said in a statement Friday, adding, “Although our partnership is ending, we remain supportive of Kyobo Life’s continued growth.”
With Affinity and GIC exiting, the consortium is now dissolved. IMM Private Equity and EQT Partners, the remaining investors, will continue their independent negotiations to divest their 5.23 percent stakes.
