[Pangyo Startup] Pangyo Gyeonggi Fair M&A Support Center is Opened to Support Exit of Startups

    LOS ANGELES, CA, June 14, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Gyeonggi-do government opened Gyoenggi Fair M&A Support Center on May 13th for startups in the province. The newly established center is to create virtuous cycle of startups-ecosystem and nurture great startups by helping them to successfully exit based on a fair M&A environment, launch new businesses and raise new fund.

Experts specialized in each part of M&A process in the center will provide various services to startups including general consultation and advice, feasibility study for selling or purchasing of a company, legal or accounting consulting and holding of education, workshop, networking and matching-day events.

This year, 40 startups are entitled for up to 600,000 won worth of experts' consulting and 10 startups are entitled for up to 30 million won worth of adequacy verification for corporate value assessment, contract and others. The center signed agreements about M&A prior to the opening ceremony with 6 brokering and consulting agencies. Following the agreement, market experts including law firms and accounting firms will join forces to help startups with regard to M&A.

The term M&A covers various meanings including merge and acquisition between companies, financially collaborative relation and strategic partnership. Despite the advantage of strengthening one's competitiveness, the strategy is not commonly practiced in South Korea compared to other developed countries due to South Korea's corporate culture that dislikes M&A and the country's structurally poor market environment for M&A. Particularly, being smaller participants in the market, startups have regarded the strategy as a difficult option to take given the risks including technology theft, unfair contract, asymmetric information and depreciation of one's corporate value.

Many global companies are expected to choose M&A to strengthen their competitiveness to survive and thrive in the time after COVID-19. In line with the expectation, the municipality plans to implement various measures to vitalize startup M&A market leveraging on the Gyeonggi Fair M&A Support Center.

The opening ceremony was participated by 10 officials including second vice-governor of Gyeonggi-do province, Han-gyu Lee, member of Gyeonggi-do provincial assembly Se-myoung Choi, Director of Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator Seung-gyeong Yu, Chair of Gyeonggi Venture Business Association Gi-man Seo and representatives of consulting and advising agencies. The second vice-governor Han-gyu Lee said "M&A models for each stage of startups will be identified and introduced to improve corporate culture on the strategy" adding "I hope Gyeonggi Fair M&A Support Center would take the central role in vitalizing a fair startup M&A market." Startups in the region can visit the Gyeonggi Fair M&A Support Center or call to the center for M&A-related services.

Pangyo Technovalley is an innovation hub for global companies comparable to the Silicon Valley in the US, Zhongguancun in China, and STATION F in France. It is an Asia tech hub with 1,259 IT, BT, CT, and NT companies that possess innovative products and technologies. Located just south of the metropolitan area, it provides the best environment for Korean companies to do business with great transportation access and infrastructure.

Various high-tech companies are located in Pangyo Technovalley, and it is occupied by 64,000 full-time employees, many in their 20-30s. In terms of industry, the companies are engaged in information technology, contents technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

With the support of innovative companies with global capabilities such as Kakao, Naver, AhnLab, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, and Hancom, companies in Pangyo Technovalley recorded 107 trillion won in sales last year. Investment and infrastructure growth in Pangyo is expected to continue, with the Metaverse hub entering Pangyo this year.

Pangyo Gyeonggi Fair M&A Support Center is based in Pangyo Technovalley. Pangyo Technovalley is an innovation hub for global companies comparable to the Silicon Valley in the US, Zhongguancun in China, and STATION F in France. It is an Asia tech hub with 1,259 IT, BT, CT, and NT companies that possess innovative products and technologies. Located just south of the metropolitan area, it provides the best environment for Korean companies to do business with great transportation access and infrastructure.

Various high-tech companies are located in Pangyo Technovalley, and it is occupied by 64,000 full-time employees, many in their 20-30s. In terms of industry, the companies are engaged in information technology, contents technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

With the support of innovative companies with global capabilities such as Kakao, Naver, AhnLab, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, and Hancom, companies in Pangyo Technovalley recorded 107 trillion won in sales last year. Investment and infrastructure growth in Pangyo is expected to continue, with the Metaverse hub entering Pangyo this year.

# # #