Global private equity firm Blackstone, which has been the subject of news reports in Korean outlets regarding the potential sale of Korea's leading drug distributor Geo-Young Corp., said it has not yet made a decision on the matter.

Blackstone holds the majority stake in Geo-Young Corp., through the latter’s holding company Cho Sunhae GY Holdings Co.

Of the 99.17 percent stake in Geo-Young held by Cho Sunhae GY Holdings Co., Blackstone holds a 71 percent stake, and the remaining shares are held by Geo-Young's co-founders, Chairman Choi Sun-hae and Chairman Emeritus Lee Hee-koo, who own a 22 percent and 7 percent, respectively. 

Korean media outlets reported on Wednesday that Blackstone recently sent out a request for proposal (RFP) to major domestic and foreign securities firms to select an underwriter for the sale of its controlling stake in Geo-Young.

News reports also said the price for Geo-Young could reach 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

However, the reports were not confirmed by Blackstone, as the PR agency in charge of Blackstone said that Blackstone has no official position regarding the sale of Geo-Young.

“Nothing is confirmed, and Blackstone currently has no official position regarding the matter,” the PR agency official for Blackstone told Korea Biomedical Review. “Regarding the RFP, securities firms first approached Blackstone regarding its intention to sell the company, which led Blackstone to send out the RFP.”

The sale price of 2 trillion won is just a speculative rumor, she added.

Nonetheless, the sale rumor is gaining momentum as Blackstone has been in control of Geo-Young for five years, and the industry believes that Blackstone has reached a time to cash out.

Geo-Young has a long history of being linked to global private equity firms.

Goldman Sachs first acquired a 45.5 percent stake in the company after investing 40 billion won in 2009, which was later sold to Anchor Equity Partners for 150 billion won in 2013.

Blackstone finally acquired its stake in Geo-Young after it purchased Anchor Equity Partners' stake for more than 1.1 trillion won in 2019.

Geo-Young shows explosive growth under Blackstone

At the time of Blackstone's acquisition, Geo-Young's annual sales and operating profit were around 2.9 trillion won and 50 billion won.

However, just four years after Blackstone acquired the company, Geo-Young's annual sales and operating profit have grown to 4.2 trillion won and 68.7 billion won.

In addition, the company recently acquired a 25 percent stake in Baekje Pharmaceutical, the nation’s No. 2 drug wholesaler.

With the acquisition of a stake in Baekje, industry watchers expect that Geo-Young will emerge as a giant in the pharmaceutical distribution sector.