CVC Capital Partners is moving ahead with a USD 600m single-asset continuation vehicle (CV) for South Korea-based travel platform GC Company, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

The CV is intended to be USD 500m-USD 600m in size, three of the sources noted. The first and second sources added that first-round bids have already been submitted by investors looking to anchor the CV and that CVC would commit capital alongside them from its latest Asia fund. Lazard is running the process, both sources said.

CVC acquired an 80% stake in the platform, also known as Good Choice, in 2019 via its fourth Asian fund, which closed on USD 3.5bn in May 2014. The deal was worth over KRW 340bn (USD 285m), Korean media reported at the time. CVC is currently deploying its sixth pan-regional vehicle, which closed on USD 6.8bn in early 2024.

Korea Economic Daily reported last month that the private equity firm was considering a CV, after a failed sale attempt last year. It had distributed sale teasers via advisor Bank of America with an expected valuation of over USD 1.5bn, Seoul Economic Daily reported in early 2024.

As Korea’s second-largest OTA (online travel agency) platform, GC has grown steadily over the years, according to a sector investor. The owner may opt to scale the business further as a potential IPO by larger rival Yanolja would likely to set a favourable valuation benchmark for the sector, he suggested.

GC is an all-in-one travel platform encompassing accommodation, flights, activities, and car rental. The app has achieved more than 40 million downloads and has a user base of over 20 million and 4.4 million monthly active users, the company’s website states.

Gross merchandise value (GMV) reached KRW 1.98tn in 2024, up from KRW 1.75tn a year earlier, the first source added. According to its latest annual report, GC recorded revenue of KRW 248.8bn in 2024, down 9.4% year-on-year, while operating profit increased by 22.6% to KRW 56.5bn. Net income rose 24% to KRW 47.7bn.

The company has invested in improving salesforce productivity and IT infrastructure since CVC’s investment, the private equity firm’s website states. Citing Myunghoon Chung, CEO of GC, it claims that one in four people in Korea have the app installed on their mobile phones.

This would be CVC’s first single-asset CV for an Asia-based asset. The firm raised its first single-asset CV globally in April 2024, extending its ownership of Italian higher education specialist Multiversity.

CVC declined to comment. Lazard did not respond to a request for comment.