Mirae Asset invests $200 mn in LS Group affiliate in US

South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments said on Sunday it invested $200 million in Essex Solutions, a US magnet wire manufacturing affiliate under cable and industrial electric machinery conglomerate LS Group.

According to LS Corp., the holding company of LS Group, Essex Solutions succeeded pre-IPO under the deal with a consortium consisting of Mirae Asset Global Management and KCGI. 

The consortium acquired a 20% stake in the company through a paid-in capital increase.

Essex Solutions is the worldwide No. 1 company in the magnet wind market. Its predecessor, Essex, was an American wire company founded in 1930 and renamed Superior Essex (SPSX) in 1954 after acquiring the telecommunications wire business. 

LS Group acquired SPSX in 2008 with an investment of about 1 trillion won. In 2020, it established Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire (EFMW), a joint venture specializing in windings with Japan's Furukawa Electric. 

In April ast year, the company acquired all of EFMW's shares in Furukawa Electric and rebranded Essex Solutions.

Essex Solutions' main products are magnet windings for electronic devices such as transformers and motors. A market that is expected to grow rapidly in the future is special windings for electric vehicles. They are wound in coils around motors to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy. 

LS will soon select a listing organizer for Esix Solutions and plans to go public this year. Initially, the company had planned to list on the Kosdaq and also considering listing on the Nasdaq due to growing interest from US investors.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com