Busan EP to buy FCCL maker NexFlex for $675M
What's the deal? South Korean private equity firm Busan Equity Partners has agreed to buy NexFlexDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the country's top maker of flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL), for roughly US$754.6M. Busan EP's consortium signed a share purchase agreement with seller MBK PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for the FCCL maker, with Deutsche Bank advising on the sale.
What's the structure? Busan EP's consortium will take 83% of NexFlex, while MBK reinvests part of the proceeds to retain a 17% stake. The reinvestment cuts the buyers' funding burden and keeps MBK exposed to future upside.
Why now? The deal closes a drawn-out sale process. Busan EP won exclusivity in February but stalled over financing; it rejoined after MBK reopened a competitive auction, then reshaped its consortium when Taekwang IndustrialDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → dropped out.
What changes? Lenders including Shinhan Investment & Securities, DB Financial Investment, and Daol Investment & Securities cleared their internal approvals, lifting the odds of closing. NexFlex makes FCCL, a core material for the flexible circuit boards used in smartphones.
By the numbers: NexFlex posted 2025 sales of US$225.5M and operating profit of US$62.9M, up about 65% and 83% respectively. The valuation is roughly 1.7 times the US$444.4M MBK paid in 2023, giving the firm an exit after about three years.
What could go wrong? NexFlex's sales lean heavily on Apple-linked demand, and one market assessment flags soft consumer-electronics demand weighing on some FCCL segments in 2026. The key watchpoint is whether the leveraged deal closes and earnings hold through customer and market cycles.
The signal: The premium exit shows PE buyers still willing to pay up for Korean component makers with strong recent earnings — even when future demand hinges on a single customer.
Read more: edaily.co.kr
Image credit: Generated with Gemini