IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 trillion won ($728 million) for its first blind credit fund from more than 30 domestic institutional investors, including the National Pension Service (NPS).

The fund, initially targeting 300 billion won, was upsized to 800 billion won to meet overwhelming demand from local limited partners, and it ultimately closed at 953 billion won in late June, making it the largest blind credit fund ever raised in Korea, the firm said last week. 

Its debut blind credit fund was joined by 31 domestic institutional investors, including Korea’s largest institutional investor and pension fund NPS, as well as the country’s major mutual aid associations and financial institutions, such as Korea Post, Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) and Korea Teachers Credit Union (KTCU).

Dubbed IMM Credit Solution Fund I, the vehicle will invest primarily in mezzanine instruments, such as convertible bonds, bonds with warrants, exchangeable bonds and redeemable convertible preferred shares.

With the closing, ICS now manages 3 trillion won in assets under management (AUM), positioning it as Korea’s largest dedicated credit investment manager, the company said.

SECOND FUND IN THE PIPELINE



Buoyed by the strong demand, ICS is considering launching a second blind credit vehicle, tentatively called IMM Credit Solution Fund II, with plans to market it to both local and overseas institutional investors.

While still in the early planning stages, the next fund is not expected to launch for another couple of years, the company said.

“Fund I’s performance is only the beginning – we look forward to building lasting partnerships with global investors for our next chapter,” said IMM Holdings Chief Executive I.J. Song.

Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from IMM Private Equity Inc., a private equity unit under IMM Holdings, ICS is a private credit firm specializing in credit investing, with a focus on structured credit, mezzanine financing and hybrid instruments.

It is run by credit veterans boasting more than two decades of credit investment experience.

Its parent, IMM Holdings, is one of Korea’s largest alternative investment firms, with $9.6 billion in AUM.  

Its 25 portfolio companies include Shinhan Financial Group, Bear Robotics Inc., Hanatour Service Inc., Ecorbit Co., SK Enmove Co. and Able C&C.

Write to Sookyung Seo at skseo@hankyung.com

Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.