Shindo, a major South Korean manufacturer of multifunction devices, plans to hire an investment banking expert as its chief executive officer. Market observers are speculating that the company is aiming to acquire a growth engine with this new hire.
Shindo Co. on Thursday appointed Seo Tong-gyu, a former head of Samir PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and former executive partner of private equity firm STIC Investments, as the printer maker's CEO at a shareholders' meeting on March 28. He announced that he would vote to appoint him.
Mr. Seo is a financial expert who was appointed internally on February 1 and has more than 30 years of experience in the Korean mergers and acquisitions scene.
At Samir PwC, he led financial advisory services on acquisitions for major companies such as SK Shieldus Co., formerly known as ADT Caps Co., Hyundai Securities, which became KB Securities, and shipping company Pan Ocean Co.
According to bank sources, Shindo has been posting operating losses in recent years, and under Seo's leadership, it is seeking new business opportunities to increase profitability through M&A.
Founded in 1960, Sindoh is a pioneer in the Korean office equipment market. It partnered with Japanese printer and copier manufacturer Ricoh to develop South Korea's first copier in 1964. Since its inception, Sindoh has been recognized for remaining focused on its core products with little borrowing.
The company posted an operating profit of 22 billion won ($16.5 million) in the first three quarters of last year. The company holds cash equivalents worth 808 billion won, and the debt-to-equity ratio is only 9.6%.
Sindoh owns real estate assets in Seoul's Seishui area, known as Brooklyn. The current book value of assets is estimated to be lower than the 85.3 billion won as of the end of September last year.
As working from home became common during the peak of the pandemic, Niijima posted its first operating loss in 2020 with a deficit of 14.6 billion won.
Sindoh's earnings were also hit by the push towards 'paperless processing' among companies adopting environmental, social and governance policies. In 2022, it recorded a loss of 2.2 billion won.
Write destination Kim Ik-hwan, lovepen@hankyung.com
Kim Ji-hyun edited this article.
