SK Networks ties up with US-based Bow Capital for investments

SK Networks Co., a South Korean trading company, joined hands with Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bow Capital for investment cooperation, including the sale of its treasury stocks to US investors.

SK Networks said on Wednesday its President and Chief Operating Officer Choi Sunghwan and Bow Capital Chairman Vivek Ranadive signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration in Seoul the day earlier.

Ranadive and US investors are set to buy some of SK Networks’ treasury shares when the unit of South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate forms consortiums for large investments, especially in the artificial intelligence industry, according to the non-binding agreement signed on Tuesday. It is rare for a South Korean company to use treasury stocks to cooperate with foreign investors.

The MOU includes a condition that the chairman and investors are not allowed to transfer the treasury shares during the funds’ investments.

SK Networks expects the cooperation with Ranadive, a veteran in the global tech investment sector, to accelerate the South Korean company’s investments in various high-tech businesses such as AI.

Ranadive is a renowned entrepreneur, engineer, best-selling author and philanthropist. As a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, he set up and managed TIBCO Software.

Bow Capital founded in 2016 boasts a diverse investment portfolio in collaboration with the University of California, which encompasses the UC’s 10 campuses, six medical centers and teaching hospitals, as well as three national labs and research centers.

Write to Sang Hoon Sung at uphoon@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.