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Special Purpose Acquisition Company with deep roots in private equity and transformational operations that reflect the career of our founder, Jin-Goon Kim, as both a blue-chip private equity partner and a public and private company CEO.

About Us

TLGY Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company sponsored by TLGY Sponsors LLC, whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. TLGY was formed to focus on growth companies through long-term, private equity style value creation in the biopharma and business-to-consumer (B2C) technology sectors. TLGY is led by Jin-Goon Kim, a former partner of TPG Capital and a former CEO of industry leaders in Asia, including Dell Korea and Li Ning.

Strategy

TLGY utilizes a private equity style investment approach focused on long-term growth potential when selecting potential acquisition targets and securing favorable deal terms.

TLGY’s team will use its differentiated capabilities to source potential target opportunities:

  • Investment Expertise
    Decades of combined experience in private equity and venture capital investing, with dozens of successful exits and an aggregate of well over a billion USD of capital returned to institutional investors.
  • Sourcing
    Deep industry expertise and a substantial proprietary network in a wide range of market segments as both investors and operators, and a proven track record of execution across dozens of transactions.
  • Value Creation
    Operational leadership and demonstrated shareholder value-creation across multiple industries and companies.

Business Strategy

TLGY’s strategy is rooted in its broad network of global relationships, deep industry and operational expertise, and highly differentiated deal-sourcing and structuring skills. TLGY expects it will be a value-added partner to potential targets and will execute private equity style value creation programs post business combination. TLGY’s team has deep experience in:

  • Selecting favorable target sectors based on forward-looking market dynamics;
  • Identifying and commercializing innovations with breakthrough potential that can fuel sustainable and profitable growth;
  • Hands-on business building, transformations, and technology implementations that offer differentiated value propositions for entrepreneur owners and thus create proprietary deal dynamics;
  • Developing and executing highly focused value-creation programs to drive growth, profitability, cost reduction, and/or industry consolidation;
  • Navigating large public and private businesses through a myriad of executional challenges that stem from rapid growth, large strategic shifts, and implementation of bold and aspirational plans;
  • Advising leading companies and entrepreneurs globally on strategy, deal structuring, capital markets, domestic and cross-border M&A; and
  • Building, guiding and/or partnering with management teams to deliver on transformative company goals.
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Business Combination Criteria

In line with TLGY’s business strategy, below are key aspects of its business combination criteria which TLGY’s team has deep experience with.

  • Macro Tailwind and Key Enabling Trends
    TLGY’s founder identified major industry inflection points in large growth markets as opportunities to generate additional revenues and profits. Although China Grand Auto rode the wave of rapid industry growth of the late 2000s, its business grew seemingly much faster than the market, expanding 7x in revenues and 40x in profits within four years, largely because TLGY’s founder led its business mix shift from low-margin car sales to profitable services and ancillary products just as consumer demand for these new business lines was taking off. In the same vein, we intend to seek targets that have innovative technology development and/or commercialization strategies. We will be looking for consumer companies that are well positioned to capitalize on various technological developments.
  • Value Creation Through Transformation
    TLGY’s founder has a track record of executing winning business models in growth companies whose entrepreneur management team had built outstanding businesses, but often without the benefit of training in the world’s leading operations. TLGY’s founder helped grow them into industry leaders by faithfully deploying breakthrough strategies and operational toolkits such as industry roll-up, fast fashion, Supply Chain Management (“SCM”) digitization, CRM and KPI based direct retail, and SKU and product portfolio optimization. Hence, we favor a target with solid business and management that still has ample opportunities to benefit from global best-practices.
  • Technology Expertise
    Having started his career in technology (McKinsey Technology, enterprise software VC, and Dell Inc.), TLGY’s founder has relied on technology to drive his corporate transformations. Most recently, he has invested in and/or worked with such companies as an innovative micro-brewery platform and a non-bank fintech platform. TLGY’s independent board member Donghyun Han was one of the early technology venture investors in Asia. Our combined but varied set of experiences will help us identify winning target companies and support their growth.
  • Public Market Benefits
    We intend to seek targets that wish, with our help, to leapfrog the process of becoming a mature public company and quickly capitalize on rapidly evolving market opportunities by accessing capital markets to uplift its market positioning. We prefer situations where increased public transparency, enhanced governance and disciplined financial control will have a meaningfully positive impact on a target and help it develop more quickly into a market leader.
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Unique Spac Structure

TLGY’s innovative SPAC structure is designed to encourage roll-over investments and mitigate redemptions:

  • Structural innovation with fixed pool of warrants and conversion to common mechanism creates upside potential and downside protection.
  • Creates potentially sufficient incentive to buy shares in the open market before the DeSPAC completes.
  • Naturally embedded multiplier quickly escalates upside and downside protection if redemption rises.

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Our Team

Portrait

Mr. Jin-Goon Kim, Founder and Chairman

Two decades of senior leadership in a top global private equity firm and as a serial transformational CEO in leading public and private companies.

  • Investor and founder of TLGY and LIC (2017 – Present)
  • Partner and Investment Review Committee member, TPG Capital (2006 – 2016)
  • CEO and Vice Chairman, Li Ning (2012 – 2014; top sportswear brand)
  • CEO and Vice Chairman, China Grand Auto (2007 – 2011; top auto platform)
  • President, Dell Korea (2002 – 2006)

A leading industry figure and award-winning CEO:

  • 2009 Outstanding Growth Award (TPG Capital)
  • 2009 Dealership Group of the Year (21st Century, top China financial media)
  • 2010 Men of the Year in the Auto Retail (top China industry forum)
  • 2012 Most Innovative Business Model (21st Century, top China financial media)

Immediately prior to founding TLGY Holdings in May 2021, Mr. Kim focused on global, high growth investments with strong potential to benefit from attractive emerging macro trends and in which he could apply his experience implementing business transformation to drive value creation. From 2006 to 2016 Mr. Kim was with TPG Capital, a leading global private equity firm, where he served as a Partner and a member of its Asia investment review committee. In his capacity as a TPG partner, Mr. Kim also served as a CEO or transformation leader of multiple TPG portfolio companies, often in parallel. Mr. Kim co-led TPG’s four major transformational investments across China’s core consumer sectors. Each of the four investments had a differentiated value creation angle in the form of a disruptive business model and/or technology; they collectively returned well over a billion dollars to TPG’s investors.

From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Kim served as CEO and Vice Chairman of Li Ning, a leading sportswear brand in China with more than US$2 billion of annual sales in 2020, where he devised and launched a brand transformation that helped salvage the company from financial distress and laid the foundation for its ultimate revival as a leading brand and a company that today has a market capitalization greater than US$30 billion. Mr. Kim served from 2011 to 2015 as a Board member of Daphne International Holdings Limited, a leading women’s footwear brand in China, where he led the shoe industry’s first successful wholesale implementation of fast retail and digitization of supply chain management that sharply uplifted sales, profits, and market capitalization of what had been a stagnant business prior to his engagement. Mr. Kim from 2007 to 2011 served as CEO and Vice Chairman of China Grand Auto, during which time he helped pioneer the company’s retail roll-up in China and the digitization of the company’s management system to grow the company’s sales by seven times and to take it from a #11 mid-size platform in China to the #1 auto retail and services company both in China and in the world. Within a few years thereafter, the company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and reached a market capitalization of approximately US$15 billion. Mr. Kim also served from 2009 to 2010 as a Board member of UniTrust Group, a leading Chinese independent equipment leasing company, during which time he helped build a management team and formulate a new strategy that transformed a start-up operation into a large sector leader that would eventually list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a market capitalization of approximately US$2 billion.

Before joining TPG Capital, Mr. Kim served from 2002 to 2006 as President of Dell Korea, the Korean affiliate of Dell, a global leader in hardware, software and services with more than $60 billion in annual sales in 2020. He successfully led the implementation of Dell’s direct model in Korea for the first time, thereby firmly establishing Dell as a leading player in a market where it had previously struggled to secure a meaningful market presence or to build a profitable business. Mr. Kim served from 2000 to 2002 as a Vice President of Internet Business Capital Corporation, a Cambridge, Massachusetts based early-stage venture capital firm that helped found or participated in early investments in successful ventures including Cambridge Technology Partners and Razorfish. Mr. Kim started his career in 1996 in the Seoul and Boston offices of McKinsey & Company, a global management consultancy. Mr. Kim earned an MPP from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard College, a diploma from the Hopkins-Nanjing Centre, and an AB in East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Government from Harvard College.

Portrait

Mr. Donghyun Han, CFA, Independent Director, Chair of the Audit Committee

Over 20 years as a technology investor and entrepreneur, primarily in Korea.

  • Director, ST Invictus Partners (2016 – Present)
  • Senior VP, Korea Telecom Corporation (2008 - 2011)
  • Partner, SAIF (Softbank subsidiary and spin-off) (2001 - 2007)
  • General Partner, Softbank Korea & Softbank Ventures Korea (2000 - 2001)

Mr. Han has since 2016 been the Director and a Shareholder of ST Invictus Partners, a start-up advisory and investment company in Hong Kong. Since 2020, Mr. Han has been a Board Member and the Chair of the Audit Committee of Solid Inc., a KOSDAQ-listed Korean telecom equipment company with a market cap of approximately KRW375 billion (US$335 million). Since 2018, Mr. Han has served as Independent Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of the Audit Committee for KEB Hana Global Finance, a Hong Kong subsidiary bank of Hana Financial Group. From 2008 to 2011, he was a Senior Vice President in the Strategic Investment Department at KT Corporation, one of South Korea’s largest telecommunications companies. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Han was Partner and Head of Korea Office at SAIF, a leading Asian private equity firm that was, until its spin off in 2006, a subsidiary of Softbank Group, the Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Han was a Vice President and General Partner at Softbank Korea & Softbank Ventures Korea, the Korean arm of Softbank Group. Mr. Han obtained an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Business Administration from Seoul National University.

Portrait

Mr. Vikas Desai, Chief Executive Officer

Vikas Desai has served as a member of the board of directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Achari Ventures Holdings Corp. I (Nasdaq: AVHI) (“Achari Ventures SPAC”), a special purpose acquisition company, since January 2021. In early 2018, he founded Achari Ventures (formerly known as Welcan Capital), a venture capital firm focused on the cannabis industry. Achari Ventures invests in early-stage plant touching and ancillary businesses and currently has a portfolio of 28 companies within the platform. Since 2018, Mr. Desai has been employed by Achari Ventures, which includes the Welcan Strategic Opportunities Fund LP and Achari Ventures Fund I LP. From June 2015 to 2017, Mr. Desai was a private equity investor at Oaktree Capital Management, a $100 billion alternative asset manager, where he completed over $2 billion in transactions. Mr. Desai began his career at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking division from July 2013 to June 2015, focusing on real estate mergers and acquisitions and capital markets, where he completed approximately 15 deals representing approximately $15 billion in transaction value. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Environmental Studies from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Portrait

MR. Merrick Friedman, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Friedman has served as the Chief Investment Officer and Corporate Secretary of Achari Ventures SPAC, since February 2021, and has served as a member of Achari Ventures SPAC’s board of directors since October 2021. Mr. Friedman joined Achari Ventures (formerly known as Welcan Capital) in June 2019. Since 2019, Mr. Friedman has been employed by Achari Ventures, which includes the Welcan Strategic Opportunities Fund LP and Achari Ventures Fund I LP. Prior to joining Achari Ventures, Mr. Friedman spent over four years at Long Pond Capital, from January 2015 to early 2019, an approximately $3 billion long/short equity hedge fund focused on fundamental and value-oriented investing. Before joining Long Pond, from 2013 to 2014, Mr. Friedman was at The Raine Group (“Raine”), a global merchant bank. At Raine, he was responsible for providing mergers and acquisitions advisory services and evaluating growth equity investments in the media, entertainment and telecommunications industries. While at Raine, Mr. Friedman completed over $30 billion in transaction value. Mr. Friedman began his career in 2012 at Deutsche Bank in the Natural Resources Investment Banking group. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Portrait

Mr. Young Cho, CFA, Independent Director, Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Over 27 years as a technology entrepreneur, investor, and finance executive, in traditional and digital asset markets.

  • Founder & CEO, Blockhouse Digital (2024 – Present)
  • CFO, Swirlds Labs (2022 - 2024)
  • CFO & Board Member, Hedera Hashgraph (2021 - 2022)
  • CIO, Abra (2020 - 2021)
  • Executive Director, UBS - Private Finance (2010 - 2012)
  • Director, Citigroup - Special Situations Group, Quantitative Research (1997 - 2007)

Mr. Cho is Founder & CEO of Blockhouse Digital an asset management firm that specializes in collateralized lending and yield generating strategies in the crypto markets. Prior to Blockhouse, Mr. Cho was CFO of Swirlds Labs and CFO of Hedera Hashgraph LLC, a proof-of-stake public network powered by hashgraph consensus. While at Hedera, Mr. Cho was also CFO and board member of Mount Rainier Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq listed SPAC that acquired HUB Cyber Security for $1.2 billion in 2023. Prior to Hedera, Mr. Cho was Chief Investment Officer of Abra, a digital consumer wallet where users can trade and earn rewards on their cryptocurrency holdings. Prior to Abra, Mr. Cho was CFO of Celsius Network and CFO of Alt Lending, both companies involved in the lending of cryptocurrencies. Prior to that, Young held several positions in investment banks. Mr. Cho was an Executive Director at UBS Private Finance, responsible for originating loans for medium sized private companies and Ultra HNW clients. Prior to UBS, Mr. Cho was Co-founder and Managing Director at Newtonian Capital, a multi-strategy hedge fund focusing on event-driven strategies based in Hong Kong. Prior to Newtonian, Mr. Cho was a Director at Citigroup Global Special Situations Group, where he invested Citigroup’s proprietary capital in the debt and equity of distressed corporates and special situation investments. Young started his career as an analyst at Salomon Brothers Fixed Income Quantitative Research group. Young has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell, a Masters in Financial Engineering from Cornell, a MPA in Economic Policy Management from Columbia, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Portrait

Mr. Enrique Klix, Independent Director, Chair of the Compensation Committee

Over 30 years of experience in finance, operational, turnaround, and consulting roles in publicly listed and private companies.

  • Director, Integral Acquisition Corporation 1 (2021 – Present)
  • General Manager, Orora Limited (2019 – 2020)
  • Senior VP, McKinsey & Company (2014 - 2016)

With over 30 years of international experience across Australia, Europe, and Latin America, he has led and advised on turnarounds, M&As, capital market transactions, and start-ups worth over $30 billion. Mr. Klix has been CEO and a board member of Integral Acquisition Corporation 1 since February 2021. From January 2019 to July 2020, Mr. Klix was General Manager at Orora Cartons Australia, overseeing a successful turnaround and sale to Nippon Paper. Previously, he was Senior VP at McKinsey & Co. and CFO/Deputy CEO at McColl’s Transport, which won "Turnaround of the Year" in 2012. Mr. Klix also spent a decade in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney (now Citigroup) and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, focusing on telecom M&As and capital markets. Mr. Klix holds an Economics degree from Universidad Católica Argentina and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

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