NH Nonghyup Affiliate Ad Agency 'Granmonster' Fails to Withstand Industry Downturn, Ultimately Enters Corporate Rehabilitation Process

'Granmonster' Grown Alongside Blockbuster Games from NEXON, NCSOFT, and Others

Founded in 2010, Granmonster is a comprehensive digital advertising agency that has established an unrivaled position in the game advertising and marketing sector. Riding the wave of the mobile game market, which grew explosively with the spread of smartphones, it drew industry attention by successfully leading blockbuster campaigns for top-tier domestic game companies such as NEXON, NCSOFT, Kakao Games, and Com2uS.

Granmonster possessed planning and creative production capabilities that went beyond simply executing online advertising media, encompassing digital media and traditional media (ATL) such as TV. Recognized for these integrated marketing communications (IMC) capabilities, it was a company that boasted outstanding creative achievements, such as winning the Silver Prize at the 2021 Korea Advertising Awards.

(Source: Granmonster Homepage)

NH PE's 100 Billion Won Bet and Establishment of GnM Holdings Corporate Governance

Taking note of its solid position in the game advertising market, NH Investment & Securities Private Equity (NH PE) focused on the explosive growth potential of the digital advertising market. Using a fund worth approximately 100 billion won in 2019, NH PE simultaneously acquired Granmonster and 'GnM Performance' (formerly Mecu Like), a company specialized in performance marketing.

Right after the acquisition, to maximize the synergy between the two companies, NH PE established a parent company called 'GnM Holdings' and completed a governance structure holding both companies as 100% subsidiaries. Under this structure, a highly attractive condition was created where a future buyer acquiring GnM Holdings would be able to simultaneously embrace brand marketing-focused Granmonster and performance marketing-focused GnM Performance. At the time, Granmonster was recording 9.4 billion won in sales and 900 million won in operating loss (externally provided data), but with the introduction of PE's capital and management systems, it prepared for a leap forward.

Heyday Reached Through Portfolio Diversification and Sale Push

After being embraced by NH PE, Granmonster underwent a complete transformation. It significantly increased its business stability by actively expanding its client base, which had been heavily concentrated on games, into the finance (Shinhan Financial Investment, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance) and consumer goods (Homeplus, Yanolja) sectors.

Such fundamental improvements immediately led to proven results. In 2021, Granmonster far exceeded 20 billion won in sales, reaching 21.9 billion won, and successfully achieved a complete turnaround with an operating profit of 1.5 billion won. As performance rode a distinct upward trend, NH PE put GnM Holdings up for sale in 2022, three years after the acquisition, embarking on a return on investment (exit). At that time, the acquisition battle heated up as major IT companies, including DoubleU Games, and conglomerates' affiliates jumped into the preliminary bidding.

Frozen Advertising Market and Heavy Fixed Costs... Ultimately Leading to Rehabilitation Process

However, its splendid heyday abruptly collapsed after hitting an unexpected macroeconomic reef. As global high-interest rate policies and economic recession overlapped, Granmonster's primary client base of game companies and startups simultaneously closed their marketing wallets.

Amid a sharp plunge in advertising execution volumes, small and medium-sized agencies, including Granmonster, fell into the swamp of massive fixed costs, such as labor and operating expenses, that had to be spent every month. In reality, Granmonster's performance swung to a deficit in 2023 with sales of 19.4 billion won and an operating loss of 3.7 billion won, and faced a severe financial crisis (externally provided data) of two consecutive years of declining sales and deficits, recording 18.5 billion won in sales and 1.1 billion won in operating loss in 2024. NH PE continued to push for the sale of GnM Holdings, but ultimately failed to find a buyer amidst the coldly frozen M&A market and severe industry downturn.

Despite maintaining sales in the 18 billion won range, Granmonster, unable to withstand the accumulating deficits and liquidity crisis, ultimately knocked on the court's door amidst the chain bankruptcy crisis of small and medium-sized agencies. The Seoul Rehabilitation Court issued a comprehensive injunction against Granmonster Co., Ltd. as of December 29, 2025, and full-scale corporate rehabilitation procedures were initiated for the company as of March 16, 2026. The news of the rehabilitation application by Granmonster, which was once hailed as the darling of the digital advertising market and the protagonist of a 100 billion won acquisition battle, starkly illustrates the harsh reality currently facing the advertising agency industry.