Align Partners Goes Activist on Coway

• After the market close on 16 January, it was reported that Align Partners started to go activist on Coway Co Ltd (021240 KS).

• Align Partners sent a public letter to Coway demanding improvements to shareholder returns and measures to enhance the independence of the board of directors.

• The combination of higher shareholder returns, low valuations, and Align Partners putting further activist pressure are likely to lead to continued outperformance of Coway relative to KOSPI this year.

Align Partners Goes Activist on Coway

After the market close on 16 January, it was reported that Align Partners ("Align") started to go activist on Coway Co Ltd (021240 KS). Activist fund Align Partners sent a public letter to Coway demanding improvements to shareholder returns and measures to enhance the independence of the board of directors.

Align currently owns a 2.8% stake in Coway (through funds it directly manages and advises). Coway currently has a market cap of 5.7 trillion won. A 2.8% of this amount would be about 160 billion won. Align presented two major demands:

• Introduction of a target capital structure policy and improvement in shareholder return policy

• Implementation of measures to improve the independence of the board of directors to alleviate conflicts of interests among shareholders