VIP Asset Management backs hotel firm Thehyusik with $47.8M pre-IPO fund
What's the deal? Value-investing specialist VIP Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has co-raised a US$54.5M pre-IPO fund to back ThehyusikDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a South Korean hospitality solutions company. The firm formed the Thehyusik Pre-IPO Project Fund on September 30 alongside TS InvestmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, contributing US$16.8M of its own capital — its largest-ever proprietary outlay into a private company.
Who is Thehyusik? Founded in 2019, it finds ageing or undervalued small and mid-sized lodging sites, then handles planning, branding, construction, and operations. It has developed and run more than 300 properties nationwide, including its own hotel brand, "Anuk."
By the numbers: Thehyusik posted US$152.3M in consolidated revenue and US$17M in operating profit last year. It plans to use the funds to expand partnerships with global hotel brands and launch a three- to four-star tourist hotel business, aiming for a 2028 listing.
Why now? VIP Asset Management cited surging foreign tourism against limited supply, noting that Seoul's hotel room count has grown only 3.7% since the Covid-19 pandemic. It said Thehyusik "has proven its capabilities with more than 300 lodging facilities" and has a model to convert rising demand into growth.
What's the endgame? Thehyusik runs an "asset-light" model, developing and operating hotels without buying the buildings. The investment is meant to extend that approach to globally branded tourist hotels, lifting both scale and profitability.
The signal: Known for public-equity investing, VIP Asset Management is widening into private markets. Led by its alternative investment division, it is now pushing into buyouts and pre-IPO deals — and joined this one as a co-manager, not just a backer.
Read more: news.bizwatch.co.kr
Image credit: In Memoriam: PhillipC
