After three years spent examining opportunities in the South Korean market, China’s Lyfe Capital has completed its debut solo control deal, acquiring 70% of Koru Pharma for an enterprise value of approximately USD 100m. The plan is to help the medical aesthetics business, which already sells to over 120 countries, expand further globally.

“We started our conversation with the founder two years ago, and the company has shown good growth during that period. Right now, the founder is willing to work with global partners in taking it to the next step,” said William Chen, a partner at Lyfe.

The investment reflects Lyfe’s broader strategy shift since relocating its Asia headquarters from Shanghai to Singapore in 2021. This has involved a pivot from China‑centric minority investments toward building a control‑oriented Asian platform.

The specialist healthcare investor is currently deploying Fund IV and raising Fund V. Both have 70% allocations to Asia – including China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia – and 30% to the US. There is no specific allocation between Asian markets.

Target identification 

Lyfe began building out its Korean network in 2019, when Chen, then a principal at the firm, was seconded to Chinese medical aesthetics player Imeik to support M&A in Korea. After COVID-19, he intensified his focus on the market, identifying several quality companies, and setting up a broader entry for Lyfe.

Chen admits his firm cannot compete with local funds on domestic plays. But he claims Lyfe has an edge in helping leading Korean companies grow globally, particularly in medical aesthetics, contract research organisations (CROs), contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs), dental, and medical devices.

Lyfe’s debut investment involved the purchase of a minority stake in Jeisys, a manufacturer of medical aesthetic devices, in 2023. It exited less than 12 months later when France‑based ArchiMed led a take‑private of the business. Subsequent deals include a convertible bond investment in ST Pharm, a listed CDMO, and participation in a privatisation of medical device maker Viol led by VIG Partners.

Koru was sourced on a proprietary basis. Lyfe acquired a majority interest from founder Roman Vernidub and existing investors, including DSC Investment, IMM Investment, KB Investment, Kolon Investment, and LF Investment. Vernidub’s stake was reduced from 55.5% to approximately 22%. IMM retains a minority position.

Chen said Koru had initially expressed a preference for a minority investment, but Lyfe was ready to graduate its Korean activity into control transactions. “Our message to the founder was very clear – if we cannot do a buyout, then we cannot do the deal,” he said.

Platform building

Ukrainian-born Vernidub first came to Korea about 15 years ago to pursue a master’s degree, and while exploring business opportunities, began trading K-beauty cosmetics. Realising he wanted to operate in a space with higher entry barriers, he shifted focus to medical aesthetics and launched Koru in 2016. By 2020, the company had started building its own manufacturing facilities.

Koru produces injectables, skin boosters, and regenerative medicine exclusively for over 2,200 clinics and med spas. Some manufacturing for own-branded products is outsourced to third parties.

“With Lyfe’s help, Koru can do more over the long term. When we find good product companies in Korea that don’t know how to sell globally, we can help it acquire those businesses. With these three approaches [in-house manufacturing, licensing, and bolt-on acquisitions], we can build a platform,” Chen said.

Between 2022 to 2025, revenue rose from KRW 26bn (USD 17.6m) to KRW 34.6bn, while operating income increased from KRW 4.8bn to KRW 7.4bn, according to Lyfe. The US, Europe, Korea, Japan, and China account for half of revenue. The other half comes from smaller markets such as South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

Chen estimates that Korea currently has a 20%‑30% share of the global medical aesthetics market. If that figure increases to 50%, which he believes is possible, the business opportunity would be significant.

“The good thing for Koru is that we already built a very diversified product portfolio,” he said. “We can be a one‑stop solution provider to our clients.”