KCA Partners buys South Korea's SK TNS for up to US$335.4M
What's the deal? Private equity manager KCA PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire SK TNSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a South Korean information and communications infrastructure contractor. The deal covers 100% equity held by seller AlchemistDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through a special purpose company, at a price in the upper mid-US$251.5M to US$335.4M range.
Who's involved? KCA Partners joined the bidding in a consortium with F2 Telecom, a network build-out partner of SK TelecomDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and was selected over a rival consortium led by Pantech C&I and EGIS Investment Partners. Alchemist, SK TNS's largest shareholder, bought the company from SK ecoplant in 2021 for about US$236.9M.
What does SK TNS do? Established in 2015, it builds mobile networks such as base stations, repeaters, and optical lines. It has expanded into data center power infrastructure, fuel cells, energy storage systems, and solar facility construction.
By the numbers: SK TNS posted revenue of US$602.5M last year, down from US$654.3M a year earlier. It generates US$25.2M to US$33.5M in annual operating profit and held more than US$125.8M in cash at the end of 2024 — seen as a strength for stable cash generation.
Why the SK link matters: SK Group affiliates such as SK Telecom and SK Broadband account for a large share of SK TNS revenue. Bringing in F2 Telecom, which has existing transaction relationships with those affiliates, was seen as supporting business stability after the acquisition and earned KCA high marks.
Why now? If the deal closes as planned, Alchemist will recoup its investment about five years after buying the company. The seller had taken the unusual step of naming two preferred bidders in June 2026, then comparing price and likelihood of closing before settling on KCA.
The signal: KCA Partners, an institution-only manager founded in 2019 and led by chief executive officer Kwon Il-hwan, has mainly backed technology companies including Rebellions, SungEel HiTech, and ALMAC. Adding SK TNS pairs a steady infrastructure cash generator with a strategic partner tied to South Korea's dominant telecom group.
Read more: Chosun Biz
