Sale of Korean dental scanner maker Medit fails

The sale of South Korea's dental scanner manufacturer Medit will undergo a reset as the preferred bidder, a consortium led by GS Holdings and the US private equity fund (PEF) Carlyle, did not sign the final acquisition agreement.

Investment banking sources on Sunday said Unison Capital, a private equity company targeting the mid-market and Medit's largest shareholder, and sale organizer Citigroup Global Market are discussing actions related to the sale such as another bid. The next tender could see participants other than American PEF Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Co. and Blackstone, which lost to the consortium in the first sale.

The consortium had earned preferred bidder status by submitting the highest price in the Oct. 19 main bid, beating out KKR and Blackstone in a publicized clash of large global PEFs. The consortium's reported bid of about 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) is known to have been some 300 billion won higher than that of the runner-up KKR.

The sale side and the consortium on Oct. 31 quickly negotiated to conclude the contract but the process collapsed early this month. Unison refused to extend the deadline, thus the consortium was stripped of its preferred bidder status.

A major factor in the failed acquisition was the results of Medit's October performance released early this month. The company reportedly saw results 40% lower than its target indicated during the sale, and both sides could not agree on the sale price in renegotiations.

Unison said it will find a new buyer given Medit's solid performance. An investment banking source said the new sale price will be around the mid-2-trillion-won level.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com