This article was published on August 21, 2025, at 14:48 on Signal, a capital markets compass.
MBK Partners and UCK Partners are at odds with Chairman Choi Kyoo-ok, the founder, over management strategy following their acquisition of Osstem Implant. Internal tension is rising amid differing views between the private equity firms, which prioritize profitability and efficiency, and the founder, who champions a long-term vision.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry Thursday, MBK and UCK hold a management committee meeting with Osstem Implant's executives every two weeks. The meetings serve to assess the company's management conditions and discuss measures to improve profits. Concerns are emerging that the rift between the two sides may be deepening as clashes between Chairman Choi and MBK Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il have repeatedly occurred at these meetings.
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China Strategy and Profitability 'Dilemma'
The essence of the conflict lies in the difference in management philosophy between the two sides. While Chairman Choi emphasizes long-term growth, MBK has exposed its differing perspective by prioritizing profitability and cost efficiency, citing reasons such as the recovery of its investment. At management committee meetings held several times earlier, Chairman Choi has argued that expanding new business and research and development (R&D) investment, along with hiring local personnel in China, its core market, is an essential condition for strengthening global competitiveness. Chairman Choi believes it is difficult to maintain market share in China, which accounts for more than 40% of total revenue, without expanding personnel. Osstem Implant has established itself as the world's No. 1 company by sales volume, exporting to about 100 countries, but ranks third by revenue. He views that attacking the market centered on China is absolutely essential to achieve the long-term vision. Osstem Implant has set as its long-term goal becoming the world's top implant company by revenue through achieving 10 trillion won in revenue by 2036.
MBK, on the other hand, is said to maintain its position that efficiency and profitability should take priority while keeping a conservative stance. It judged that aggressive investment is risky in a situation where it must repay more than 100 billion won in interest annually given the scale of the acquisition financing. Indeed, Osstem's profitability slowed after the MBK-UCK acquisition, with 2024 operating profit falling 33% from the previous year to 161.8 billion won. Nevertheless, the company carried out a cash dividend of 100.1 billion won early this year, with 89.2 billion won, most of the dividend, accruing to the SPC established by MBK and UCK. Industry observers interpret this as an unavoidable choice to recover the investment, given the debt burden.
External conditions also fueled the conflict. As the Chinese government introduced a volume-based procurement (VBP) system that lowers implant prices, the earnings of Korean implant companies wavered. Not only Osstem Implant but also domestic competitors such as Dentium and MegaGen Implant were hit together. However, Switzerland's Straumann, the world's No. 1 company, saw its China revenue rise 52% the same year, showing a trend directly opposite to that of Korean companies. Amid concerns that Osstem Implant's global competitiveness could weaken if its slump in China continues, Chairman Choi argued for strengthening the local sales network and expanding hiring, but MBK opposed it, citing cost reduction.
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Board Reorganization and Future Variables
The industry evaluates this as a typical case in which the nature of a private equity fund, which must recover its investment within a few years, clashes with the philosophy of a founder focused on long-term goals. Osstem Implant was acquired in 2023 by the MBK-UCK consortium through a tender offer for about 2.5 trillion won. The two fund managers are the largest shareholders, having secured a 83.6% stake through the special purpose company (SPC) Dentistry Investment. Following the acquisition, Vice Chairman Kim and Executive Vice President Lee Jin-ha from MBK, and CEO Kim Soo-min and Partner Kwak Seung-woong from UCK were appointed as non-executive directors and joined the board, through which they seized management control and board leadership. Last August, CEO Kim Hae-sung, newly appointed by the two fund managers, entered the board and took the chairman's seat.
MBK further strengthened its control by replacing key positions, such as appointing Executive Vice President Lee Jae-ho, whom it had put forward as a professional manager during the Coway acquisition, as chief financial officer (CFO). Chairman Choi, who joined the board as an inside director early this year, is still voicing his opinions as the founder holding a 9.6% stake, but a company official explained that his influence within the board is inevitably limited.
The power structure of the company's management and its strategy for responding to the global market are key variables that will determine Osstem Implant's future growth. MBK places emphasis on financial stabilization and short-term profitability, while Chairman Choi values long-term vision and local market expansion. Although the two positions have different centers of gravity, both are reasonable perspectives for the company's future and carry sufficient persuasiveness. "When a financial investor and a founder jointly run a company, disagreements are inevitable," one IB industry official said. "Even so, they must find a balance point with each other to lead both the improvement of the company's fundamentals and global growth."
