FILA (as an SI) and the Selling Shareholders (as FIs) jointly purchased shares of the Acushnet Holdings Corps from its existing shareholders in 2011. The IPO of the company in 2016 was the Selling Shareholders’ exit strategy. FILA increased its shareholding to become a controlled shareholder through a share purchase during the IPO. 

Our IPO team, as Korean counsel to the Selling Shareholders, advised on the negotiation of the underwriting agreement and other offering documents and guided the clients to resolve complex regulatory issues, including marketing restrictions and the S-1 filing requirement. The IPO team worked closely with our M&A team, which advised on the share purchase transaction. 

This IPO was the first case that Korean PEFs successfully exited offshore portfolio companies through an IPO. Adding another layer of complexity, the IPO proceeded in tandem with changes in the issuer’s corporate governance within a short timeframe. With our US co-counsel, we successfully tackled unprecedented issues arising from this interesting, multi-aspect project.