Blind fund targets first close in November
Mom's Touch sale on track, valuation seen near 1 trillion won
Goodrich, PPB Studios acquired
Some buy, some sell, and others reload for the next deal. Even within the same mergers and acquisitions market, private equity fund managers pursue vastly different strategies and deliver vastly different results. House Review takes a close look at where major managers invested this year, what they achieved, and where they are looking next. [Editor's note]
For KLN Partners, 2026 has been a year of transformation. A decade of deal-by-deal investing has given the firm the confidence to launch its first solo blind fund, while its investment scope has expanded into the popular cosmetics industry, financial services and AI infrastructure. With the sale process for flagship portfolio company Mom's Touch now under way, KLN Partners is running three tracks simultaneously — new investments, exits and fundraising.
Since its founding in 2015, KLN Partners has built its foundation one deal at a time. The firm is now positioned to join the ranks of mid-sized private equity fund managers running blind funds worth hundreds of billions of won. Having demonstrated its value-creation capabilities at Mom's Touch, it is extending that playbook into new industries.
Beyond project funds: blind fund targets 400 billion won
![Kim Ki-hyun, chief executive of KLN Partners. [KLN Partners website]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/08/news-p.v1.20261008.db7559a301dd4dc9a6a6dcb3240ca23a_P1.png)
KLN Partners is targeting a first close of its debut solo blind fund in late November. The firm has secured about 250 billion won ($187 million) so far, and the first close is expected to come in at around 300 billion won. The ultimate target is roughly 400 billion won, to be reached by bringing in additional limited partners.
KLN Partners previously co-managed a blind fund of about 160 billion won with Korea Development Bank in 2023 as a co-general partner, but this marks the first time it has raised a blind fund entirely on its own.
A manager's first solo blind fund carries particular significance in the private equity industry. With project funds, the appeal of a specific target directly drives fundraising. A blind fund, by contrast, requires limited partners to commit capital before any investment target is identified — based solely on the manager's investment philosophy, track record and capabilities. The move signals that KLN Partners has earned the trust of investors on its own merits.
The firm has succeeded in converting more than a decade of individual investment results into institutional confidence in the house itself. Once the fund is closed, KLN Partners' investment approach is expected to shift as well — with committed capital in hand, the firm will be able to move faster and more flexibly, and pursue larger deals.
Mom's Touch sale under way, major payout eyed after 7 years
Underpinning this growth is Mom's Touch, KLN Partners' signature investment. The firm acquired a 56.8 percent stake in Mom's Touch for 193.8 billion won in 2020, then built up to 100 percent ownership through a tender offer and other procedures before voluntarily delisting the company. A preliminary bidding process for the exit is now under way, with the market valuing the company at around 1 trillion won.
Mom's Touch is the clearest expression of KLN Partners' investment philosophy. Rather than riding brand momentum, the firm focused on installing operational systems across the business to build a stable earnings structure. It streamlined the menu and expanded the store network while overhauling logistics and franchise operations to lift efficiency at both the head office and individual franchisees.
The results speak for themselves. Sales on a consolidated basis jumped from 287.7 billion won in 2019 to 479 billion won last year. Over the same period, operating profit more than quadrupled from 21.6 billion won to 89.7 billion won, and the operating margin rose from 7.5 percent to 18.72 percent, pushing the chain into double-digit profitability. EBITDA reached 103.1 billion won last year. The simultaneous improvement in scale and margins has made Mom's Touch a widely cited example of private equity value creation.
The second growth driver is global expansion. Concluding that the domestic market alone offered limited upside, KLN Partners moved early to take the brand overseas. Mom's Touch entered Mongolia, Laos, Thailand and Uzbekistan through master franchise agreements in 2022, then established a local subsidiary in Japan for a direct entry in 2024. The company plans to have 16 stores in Japan by year-end.
A successful sale of Mom's Touch would give KLN Partners a complete success story — from investment and operational improvement to a trillion-won-scale exit. It would also serve as the firm's most powerful reference point as it manages its new blind fund.
From cosmetics to financial services and AI infrastructure
![Jang Won-young, model for the color contact lens brand Hapa Kristin. [Hapa Kristin website]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/08/news-p.v1.20261008.3bb0331bd4ec4e50b5c8cd0587420b8a_P2.png)
The confidence gained from Mom's Touch is now driving KLN Partners into new industries. Having built a track record in consumer goods — including Mom's Touch and Gayasan Saemmul mineral water — the firm has been rapidly broadening its investment scope into the popular cosmetics industry, financial services and AI infrastructure.
In July, KLN Partners acquired a controlling stake of about 65 percent in color contact lens company PPB Studios for 140 billion won. PPB Studios operates the color lens brand Hapa Kristin, which features Jang Won-young of the K-pop girl group IVE as its model.
The deal extends the firm's conviction in the popular cosmetics industry, which it first tested through its acquisition of domestic cosmetics brand Manyo Factory. KLN Partners sees the K-beauty wave — driven largely by skincare and color cosmetics — spreading into adjacent beauty categories such as color contact lenses. PPB Studios already generates a significant portion of its sales overseas, which the firm views as evidence of ample room for further global expansion.
KLN Partners has also been building a presence in financial services. In September, it joined an investment in Goodrich, a general insurance agency. The deal involves founder and Chief Executive Han Seung-pyo exercising a call option to acquire the stake held by existing major shareholder JC Partners, with KLN Partners co-investing alongside Bayside PE.
![The interior of a Goodrich Lounge, an offline insurance consultation shop operated by general insurance agency Goodrich. [Goodrich]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/08/news-p.v1.20261008.ce27b534555c473e96377ce29f50a04a_P1.png)
KLN Partners sees the general insurance agency market at a structural inflection point. As the commission regime governing payments from agencies to insurance agents is overhauled, the ability to manage agents over the long term through robust systems is becoming increasingly important. The Financial Services Commission introduced rules in July capping the upfront sales commission that agencies pay agents in the first year at 12 times the monthly premium, with payments to be made in installments.
The firm believes these changes create an opportunity for Goodrich. It is the kind of market where KLN Partners' growth formula — installing systems in companies that have cleared the early growth stage to improve scale and profitability — can take hold. Goodrich had already proactively adopted an installment-based commission system and built out its agent management infrastructure ahead of the regulatory shift. KLN Partners identified the potential for Goodrich to grow into a large-scale agency in a market where systems and economies of scale matter more than commission competition.
KLN Partners has also moved into AI infrastructure. It invested 40 billion won for a minority stake in Geunwoo, a power company that handles electrical distribution for data centers. Rather than chasing semiconductor materials, components and equipment — sectors prone to sharp cyclical swings — the firm found a long-term growth opportunity in the power infrastructure essential to data center operations. Geunwoo's sales jumped from 87.2 billion won in 2021 to 205.1 billion won last year.
Having taken careful, deliberate steps for more than a decade, KLN Partners is now striding toward a larger stage. The market is watching closely to see where the firm goes in 2027.
park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com
