Wise UX Global of 'I'm DAK' Revived by Oasis Investment: Financial Structure Improvement and Future Turnaround Challenges

Operating the chicken breast specialty brand 'I'm DAK' and the home meal replacement brand 'I'm WELL', Wise UX Global (formerly Vines Interactive) has recently undergone significant financial changes. Although it faced complete capital impairment due to consecutive deficits, it dramatically improved its financial structure by attracting strategic investment from the early-morning delivery platform Oasis. The company achieved the positive outcome of turning a profit in 2025, but at the same time, it is burdened with the challenge of a shrinking revenue scale. The market's attention is focused on whether Wise UX Global, having secured profitability through management efficiency, can recover its revenue volume and bring Oasis's conditional acquisition to fruition in the future.

Growth, Stagnation, and Management Efficiency

Starting as a user experience (UX) consulting firm in 2003, Wise UX Global successfully launched 'I'm DAK' in 2011, transforming its business into meat processing food manufacturing and sales. In 2017, a consortium of Korea Investment Partners, Credian Partners, and Gravity Private Equity (PE) acquired management rights, recognizing a corporate value of approximately 50 billion won.

From 2019 to 2021, the company maintained relatively stable performance, recording revenue in the 35 billion won to 39 billion won range and operating profits of more than 2 billion won. However, due to intensified market competition, it turned to a deficit in 2022, recording an operating loss of approximately 3 billion won. In 2023, revenue appeared to rebound, reaching an all-time high of 41 billion won, but it failed to escape the deficit trend, incurring an operating loss of 1.5 billion won.

This situation worsened in 2024, with revenue dropping to 28.1 billion won and a massive net loss causing total equity to fall to minus 300 million won, plunging the company into a state of complete capital impairment. However, in 2025, the company embarked on extensive management efficiency operations. Although revenue shrank to 16.1 billion won, it achieved an operating profit of 800 million won, finally succeeding in turning a profit.

Oasis's 5 Billion Won Infusion and the Bridge Role of Korea Investment Partners

Behind Wise UX Global's escape from capital impairment and restoration of financial stability lies Oasis's strategic investment. Through a board of directors meeting in January 2025, Oasis resolved to acquire 208,000 redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) of Wise UX Global for approximately 5.02 billion won. The corporate value recognized in this investment is around 53.2 billion won.

The industry views that the common financial investor (FI) of both companies, Korea Investment Partners, played a significant role behind this investment. From Oasis's perspective, within the early-morning delivery industry structure characterized by high fixed costs, bringing the already market-recognized 'I'm DAK' brand onto its platform allows for expected synergy effects of strengthening its product lineup and improving profitability.

The funds infused through the investment significantly enhanced Wise UX Global's financial soundness. As of 2025, total equity increased to 5.5 billion won, completely escaping the capital impairment state. In addition, the total liabilities, which had exceeded 4.7 billion won, were drastically reduced to the 1.1 billion won level through the repayment of short-term borrowings and accounts payable. At the same time, the company secured approximately 900 million won in cash equivalents and 3 billion won in short-term financial instruments, gaining a comfortable position in terms of liquidity.

[Source: I'm DAK Website]

Revenue Decline and Intensive Cost Reduction Status

Behind the positive indicators of financial structure improvement and turning a profit, there are also clear challenges the company must overcome in the future. This is because revenue, which reached 41 billion won in 2023, showed a noticeable declining trend over the past two years, dropping to 28.1 billion won in 2024 and 16.1 billion won in 2025.

The profit turnaround in 2025 was achieved through intensive cost reduction rather than an increase in revenue. Selling and administrative expenses, which were around 12.9 billion won in 2024, were drastically reduced to a scale of 4.8 billion won in 2025. Looking at detailed items, transportation expenses were cut by more than half from 4.2 billion won to 1.8 billion won, and commission expenses were also reduced from 2.2 billion won to 1.3 billion won. Labor costs significantly decreased as well, dropping from 2.1 billion won to 700 million won. In fact, the number of employees, which exceeded 50 as recently as 2024, has recently dwindled to fewer than 5.

This aggressive restructuring and efficiency improvement was effective in lowering the immediate break-even point (BEP), but for the company's long-term growth, the recovery of revenue volume must accompany it. If the downward trend in revenue continues, the limits of further cost reduction will become clear, which could pose a renewed burden on profitability in the future.

Managing the bad debt risk that has repeatedly occurred in the past is also considered a critical task for stable management. Looking at Wise UX Global's past income statements, 'other bad debt expenses' amounting to 3.7 billion won in 2019 and 1.2 billion won in 2024 occurred under non-operating expenses.

2026 Performance to Determine the Direction of Conditional Acquisition

The market's greatest interest lies in whether Oasis will become the largest shareholder. The contract for the redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) that Oasis acquired this time includes an unusual option. It is a conditional acquisition clause stating that if Wise UX Global achieves an average operating profit of 1 billion won in 2025 and 2026, one preferred share held by Oasis can be converted into 10 common shares. If this option is exercised, Oasis's stake will jump to 50.98%, securing firm management rights.

Wise UX Global recorded an operating profit of 880 million won in 2025, falling slightly short of the annual average target of 1 billion won. Ultimately, whether Oasis will finalize the acquisition and whether the company's long-term value will be proven depends on the upcoming 2026 performance.

Moving forward, Wise UX Global must demonstrate 'downward rigidity' to the market through its quarterly performance in 2026, defending against further revenue decline and maintaining a certain level of top-line scale. Attention is focused on whether 'I'm DAK', having completed intensive structural improvement, can succeed in a revenue rebound based on collaboration synergy with Oasis and take off once again in the healthy convenience food market.