Vogo Fund seeking to buy BC Card

By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's private equity group Vogo Fund is again
seeking to take over BC Card Co. three years after it failed to purchase the
company, industry sources said Wednesday.
According to sources, Vogo Fund, the country's largest buyout fund, has signed a
preliminary deal with Hana Bank and SC First Bank to buy a combined 31.7 percent
stake in BC Card, which manages the credit card businesses of 11 local banks.
Hana Bank has a 16.8 percent interest in the card issuer while SC First Bank
holds the remainder.
The move would prompt Vogo Fund to become the card issuer's largest shareholder.
The buyout fund plans to hold price negotiations with BC Card after conducting a
due diligence on the firm, the sources added.
The fund sought to purchase BC Card in March 2006 by taking over stakes held by
three lenders, but its attempt was thwarted amid controversy surrounding a
bribery scandal involving its head.
BC Card had 40 million clients as of the end of 2008 and posted a net profit of
118 billion won (US$93.8 million) in the last quarter of 2008.
Vogo Fund is led by Byeon Yang-ho, a former director-general at the finance
ministry, and other financiers.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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