IMM Private Equity is conducting due diligence as it looks to buy some of the operations of cosmetics-to-pharmaceutical business group Kolmar Korea, according to Kolmar Korea on Thursday.

The South Korean investment house is proposing to buy Kolmar Korea Holdings’ contract manufacturing subsidiary Kolmar Pharma and Kolmar Korea’s pharmaceutical division, except for CJ Healthcare. They are roughly valued at a combined 750 billion won ($628.6 million). 

Kolmar Korea said in a disclosure Thursday that it is considering the selloff as a way to boost its company’s value but nothing has yet been confirmed. The filing came after the value of Kolmar Korea shares inched down 0.8 percent as its earlier gain evaporated, while stock in its parent company, Kolmar Korea Holdings, climbed 4.6 percent in Thursday closing.

The deal is meant to consolidate Kolmar Korea’s pharma business under its newest health care subsidiary CJ Healthcare and focus on cosmetics business. The company also also intends to secure cash to lower the leverage from a 1.3 trillion won CJ Healthcare acquisition in 2018.

The latest development comes as IMM PE has already surpassed its fundraising goal of 1.8 trillion won for its fourth flagship IMM Rosegold IV fund, from dozens of investors at home and abroad.

The new blind pool fund has garnered a total of 1.85 trillion won commitment so far, according to a spokesperson of IMM PE. It added that it would continue to raise up to 2 trillion won by no later than February 2021.

IMM Rosegold IV was launched in February 2019.

Founded in 2006, IMM PE is the third-largest private equity house in Korea with $4.9 billion assets under management.

Last year, IMM PE closed the 100 percent acquisition deal of Linde Korea for 1.4 trillion won and a 750 billion won investment in Shinhan Financial Group’s convertible preference stocks. IMM PE also announced plans to engage in fundraising of Hanatour. IMM Rosegold IV backed all the three portfolios.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)