Deals
Mergers & Acquisitions
SK On narrows bidders to BlackRock, Carlyle, KKR, GIC
South Korean battery maker SK On Co. has narrowed bidders for its shares worth up to $3.3 billion to four candidates -- BlackRock, The Carlyle Group, KKR and Singapore's GIC -- and notified them of the decision on Thursday, according to people with
Feb 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pharmaceuticals
Samsung Bioepis to double biosimilars, may resume Nasdaq listing plans
Samsung Bioepis Co., a biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, plans to double the number of its biosimilar products on sale to 10 by 2025 and acce...
Feb 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korean battery sector to heat up IPO market again
South Korea’s battery industry is expected to heat up the initial public offering market later this year as battery materials and equipment ma...
Feb 23, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea approves Korean Air-Asiana merger; hurdles remain
The proposed merger of Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. has moved one step closer to completion with approval by South Korea’s an...
Feb 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Ecoplant buys e-waste recycling firm for $1 bn
South Korea's SK Ecoplant Co. has acquired Singapore-based electronic waste (e-waste) disposal and recycling company TES Envirocorp Pte. Ltd for $1 ...
Feb 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
LS-Nikko Copper to sell $670 million JV stake to Korean PEFs
LS-Nikko Copper Co., the world’s second-largest electrolytic copper maker, is set to sell an 800 billion won ($670 million) stake in a joint v...
Feb 20, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korean drone manufacturer aims for 2023 Kosdaq IPO
South Korea's commercial drone manufacturer Nearthlab plans to apply for an initial public offering this year to get listed on the junior Kosdaq mar...
Feb 17, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Food & Beverage
Shinsegae acquires Napa Valley winery Shafer Vineyards for $250 million
South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Inc. has acquired US winery Shafer Vineyards for $250 million to consolidate its leadership in the domest...
Feb 16, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
SK On's $4 bn funding draws PE giants, GIC, Saudi PIF
BlackRock, Blackstone, Singapore's GIC and Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are among the preliminary bidders for shares worth up to $4.2 billio...
Feb 16, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Central bank
BOK’s mission impossible: To lower both inflation and govt bond yields
South Korea’s central bank is caught in a dilemma as it needs to raise interest rates to curb rising inflationary pressure in Asia’s fou...
Feb 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
KT to join MBK, IMM in Megazone Cloud's $400 mn funding
KT Corp., South Korea's No. 2 telecom operator, has decided to invest 130 billion won ($110 million) in Megazone Cloud Corp., the country's largest ...
Feb 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
PI Advanced up for sale in deal estimated at $1 bn
Seoul-based Glenwood Private Equity is putting a majority stake in South Korea's PI Advanced Materials Co., the world's largest polyimide (PI) film ...
Feb 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Earnings
HMM returns to annual profit in a decade as stake sale looms
HMM Co., South Korea’s largest container line, returned to an annual profit for the first time in a decade, boosted by higher freight rates an...
Feb 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
MBK, IMM to invest over $300 mn in Megazone Cloud
MBK Partners and IMM Private Equity will each be investing 200 billion won ($167 million) in Megazone Cloud Corp., the first South Korean business p...
Feb 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
GS ups spending to take control of botox maker Hugel
South Korea’s energy-to-retail conglomerate GS Group has increased its spending to become the largest shareholder in Hugel Inc., the country's...
Feb 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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The Deep Dive
How Carlyle aligned interests with Hyundai Motor chair
South Korea's strengthened antitrust rules relating to inter-affiliate trade provided the Carlyle Group with a valuable opportunity to invest in Hyu...
Feb 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Seoul court upholds Affinity's Kyobo Life valuation
A South Korean court on Thursday ruled in favor of Affinity Equity-led financial investors (FIs) in Kyobo Life Insurance Co., rejecting Kyobo's clai...
Feb 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Saudi sovereign wealth fund buys $700 mn stake in NCSoft
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has increased its stake in South Korea's leading gaming company NCSoft Corp. to become its fourth-...
Feb 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Singapore approves Korean Air-Asiana combination
Singapore’s antitrust authority approved the integration of Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., paving the way for South Korea&rsqu...
Feb 09, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
KKR, Carlyle, TPG vying for $4 bn stake in SK's battery arm
KKR & Co., The Carlyle Group and TPG Inc. have handed in preliminary bids for shares in SK Group's battery unit SK On, which is seeking to raise...
Feb 08, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Saudi sovereign wealth fund buys 5% stake in Nexon
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has bought a 5% stake in online game developer Nexon Co., the gaming...
Feb 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Netmarble shares slide on report of CJ ENM's stake sale plan
Shares in South Korea's leading game developer Netmarble Corp. plunged 8.7% on Thursday to end at its lowest level in more than one and a half years...
Feb 03, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
IMM to invest $120 mn in SoftBank-backed subtitle firm
South Korea's IMM Investment Corp. has agreed to invest 140 billion won ($120 million) in Iyuno-SDI Group, valuing the world's largest dubbing and s...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Samsung buys $2.3 bn Bioepis stake from Biogen to end partnership
Samsung Biologics Co. is acquiring a nearly 50% stake in a biosimilar joint venture with Biogen Inc. from the US biotechnology company for $2.3 bill...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hyundai Engineering drops IPO plan on stock market weakness
Hyundai Engineering Co., the plant engineering and construction unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, dropped a listing plan to raise up ...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Daewoo Shipbuilding to look for domestic buyer: KDB
The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., said on Thursday it will look for a...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
IMM to buy Samsung Life stake once owned by Jay Y. Lee's sister
IMM Private Equity is set to acquire a 1.73 percent stake in Samsung Life Insurance Co., according to investment banking sources on Jan. 27. The sta...
Jan 27, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Construction
HDC Hyundai eyes over $800 mn in loans after fatal accident
South Korea's HDC Hyundai Development Co. plans to raise more than 1 trillion won ($832 million) in funding backed by its real estate holdings as th...
Jan 27, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Bain Capital seals 3rd beauty M&A deal in S.Korea
Bain Capital on Thursday agreed to buy a majority stake in South Korea's medical aesthetic device manufacturer Classys Inc. for 670 billion won ($56...
Jan 26, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hyundai Engineering CEO: To spend $1.3 bn on green projects with IPO
Hyundai Engineering Co., the plant engineering and construction unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, plans to spend as much as 1.5 trill...
Jan 26, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage
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