Deals
Private equity
Lone Star, Seoul wrangle over KEB deal set to wrap up
A decade-long dispute between South Korea and the US private equity firm Lone Star Funds over a Korean deal will be wrapped up next week, with an international arbitration body set to give a ruling over their legal battle relating to the 3.9 trilli
Aug 25, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SoftBank Son's youngest brother poised to buy Korean VC arm
Taizo Son, the youngest brother of SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, is poised to buy the group's South Korean venture capital arm for around 200 bil...
Aug 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kurly, Golfzon get preliminary nod for 2022 IPOs
Gourmet food delivery platform Kurly and Golfzon County have won preliminary approval for their initial public offerings set for this year.The Korea...
Aug 23, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Growing sense of déjà vu of 2008 global financial crisis
Private equity firms have snapped up South Korean assets over the past two years, driving their valuations near historic highs in the liquidity-driv...
Aug 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Seoul advises Mirae to cut leverage for $3 bn IFC deal
South Korea’s land ministry has advised Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. to cut the proposed leverage for its 4.1 trillion ($3 billion) deal...
Aug 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
SK taps Korean PE for $1.5 bn after Carlyle's Lee quit
SK On Co. has turned to domestic private equity firms to raise up to 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) after talks with four big global funds have dried...
Aug 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao ends talks with MBK to sell mobility app stake
South Korea's Kakao Corp. has terminated talks with MBK Partners to sell a stake in Kakao Mobility Corp., the country’s No. 1 taxi-hailing app...
Aug 18, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Carlyle, GS team up to buy Korean dental scanner maker
The Carlyle Group, a US private equity giant, has joined hands with South Korean energy-to-retail conglomerate GS Group to buy Medit Corp., the worl...
Aug 16, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
LG CNS posts double-digit profit growth ahead of 2023 IPO
South Korea's largest cloud computing service provider LG CNS Co. on Tuesday reported double-digit growth in both profit and revenue in the second q...
Aug 16, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
POSCO Int'l to absorb energy unit to move up E&P value chain
POSCO International Corp., the trading unit of Korean steel giant POSCO, will merge with its unlisted affiliate POSCO Energy Co. to reinforce its en...
Aug 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
Korea’s BC Card to buy Indonesian IT firm for SE Asia biz growth
BC Card Co., a South Korean financial services provider, agreed to acquire an Indonesian IT company as it expands its businesses into overseas marke...
Aug 12, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Debt financing
Conglomerates lead loan growth to record high in July
South Korea's large business groups led a sharp increase in bank lending in July, driving the corporate bank loan growth to a record high, central b...
Aug 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
S.Korea’s SPAC IPOs eclipse company public listings
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are gaining momentum in South Korea’s initial public market on the back of eased regulations and...
Aug 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
Korean shipbuilder KSOE wins $1.5 bn order for 7 LNG carriers
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), the intermediate holding company of the world’s top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Indust...
Aug 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Megazone Cloud receives $343 mn from MBK, IMM PE in Series C funding
Megazone Cloud Corp., South Korea’s largest managed cloud service provider (MSP), has completed its Series C funding round with a combined 450...
Aug 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
Korea Inc. rushes to cut debt as interest rates surge
South Korean companies scrambled for lowering debts and borrowing costs with new financial and business strategies as interest rates on corporate lo...
Aug 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Mobility platform Socar slashes price to push ahead with IPO
South Korea’s first mobility unicorn Socar Inc. has cut its IPO price by 18% to push ahead with its stock market debut, according to industry ...
Aug 09, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Harim seeks Genofocus purchase to enter biotechnology business
Harim Co., South Korea’s top poultry processing company, is seeking to acquire Genofocus Inc., a Kosdaq-listed industrial and pharmaceutical e...
Aug 08, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Investor sentiment on Korean IPOs remains chilly in H2
Investors are staying away from South Korea’s initial public offering markets as sentiment remains sour on global interest rate hikes, the sus...
Aug 08, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Brookfield likely to beat KKR for $800 mn Korean gas facility
Brookfield Asset Management has entered talks with South Korea's SK Materials Airplus Inc. to buy the latter's industrial gas facility, after its pr...
Aug 07, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s top beauty chain CJ Olive Young puts IPO on hold
CJ Olive Young, South Korea’s top beauty store chain, has suspended its process to seek a stock market listing, becoming the latest major loca...
Aug 02, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
LX Pantos mulls Air Premia acquisition to facilitate global logistics service
LX Pantos Co., the logistics unit of South Korea’s LX Group, is looking to acquire a controlling stake in local budget carrier Air Premia Co.,...
Aug 01, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor to buy Korean self-driving startup 42dot
South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Group is set to purchase autonomous driving startup 42dot, intensifying the automaker’s competi...
Jul 29, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Samsung SDI in talks with multiple carmakers for 4680 type battery supply
Samsung SDI Co., a major South Korean battery maker, said on Friday that it is in talks with multiple automakers around the world to supply a next-g...
Jul 29, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Vale, two Korean firms to sell JV to ArcelorMittal at a loss
Brazilian mining giant Vale SA and two South Korean steelmakers are selling their joint venture in Brazil at less than half their investment in six ...
Jul 29, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Zigbang completes Samsung SDS home IoT takeover
Zigbang, a South Korean proptech startup that provides real estate search and transaction services, has completed the acquisition of Samsung SDS Co....
Jul 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korean homegrown OTT platform Watcha up for sale
South Korea’s over-the-top (OTT) platform Watcha Inc. is in talks with some companies to sell off its shares, according to investment banking ...
Jul 27, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
MBK in talks to buy Korea's top online education firm MegastudyEdu
MBK Partners, one of Asia's largest private equity firms, is in exclusive talks to acquire Korea’s top online education company MegastudyEdu C...
Jul 27, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
Korean firms rush to sell real estate to raise cash
South Korean companies are selling real estate and subsidiaries to raise cash as accelerating inflation, rising interest rates and the soft won all ...
Jul 26, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Defense likely to merge
Hanwha, the South Korean chemicals-to-financial conglomerate, has been a key player in the M&A market with a series of conspicuous acquisitions ...
Jul 25, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read
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