This article appeared on Signal, the capital markets compass, at 3:57 p.m. on August 25, 2026.
SLL Central and its financial investor, Praxis Capital Partners, are pursuing a fundraising of more than 100 billion won. SLL Central aims to secure operating capital, while Praxis intends to repay part of its acquisition financing. SLL Central's enterprise value is estimated in the range of 500 billion won ($361 million), roughly half of what it commanded in an earlier funding round.
According to investment banking sources on the 25th, SLL Central and Praxis are in talks to sell about a 20% stake in the company to a domestic private equity fund manager for 105 billion won ($76 million). Firms including Curious Partners are taking part in the negotiations. The deal is being pursued separately from the sale of management control in SLL Central.
The new investor is expected to acquire part of Praxis's existing shares and new shares issued by SLL Central, each worth about 50 billion won ($36 million). The new shares are likely to take the form of convertible bonds (CBs) — which carry a redemption obligation — rather than common stock. The CB portion would not initially count as an equity stake but could later be converted into common shares.
Proceeds from the sale of existing shares will flow to Praxis Chateau Holdings, a special purpose company (SPC) of Praxis, rather than to SLL Central. Praxis plans to use the funds to repay part of its acquisition financing. When Praxis invested 300 billion won in SLL Central convertible preferred stock (CPS) in 2021, it raised 130 billion won through acquisition financing. Including a 40 billion won revolving credit facility (RCF), the total commitment stood at about 170 billion won.
Praxis holds about an 18% stake in SLL Central through the SPC. Even if the sale of existing shares goes through, it will not complete the firm's exit, and about half of the stake is expected to remain. Based on the current investment terms, SLL Central's enterprise value stands in the range of 500 billion won. Given that the company carried an enterprise value of more than 1 trillion won at the time of the 2021 investment, its valuation has fallen by about half.
The acquisition financing raised by Praxis has been in a state of event of default (EOD) since it passed its maturity at the end of June this year. With few means to recover the principal, the lenders have held off on enforcing their collateral rights and have been monitoring the situation. If Praxis repays part of the acquisition financing with proceeds from the sale of existing shares, the lenders plan to extend the maturity of the remaining financing.
SLL Central plans to deploy the new funds as operating capital. Although it is classified as a sound company among the affiliates of Joongang Group, the entire group has entered court receivership, so the aim is to secure liquidity preemptively and strengthen management stability.
Whether the negotiations succeed will depend on ironing out the details. The new financial investor is demanding a substantial amount of collateral ahead of the investment. SLL Central's intellectual property (IP) has been cited as a potential target. "There is a tug-of-war over whether collateral will be provided to secure downside protection for the investor and over how to set SLL Central's enterprise value," an investment banking source said.
