Deals
IPOs
Market Kurly's IPO plans dwarfed by SSG.COM's IPO talk
Kurly Inc., which runs South Korea's online grocery delivery service Market Kurly, has tentatively halted its IPO process, about a month after it announced a U-turn back to a domestic listing. Growing market talk of its bigger rival SSG.COM's possi
Aug 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
-
M&As
China's top travel agency to join bid for Korea's online retail platform
China’s leading online travel agency (OTA) Trip.com will be joining the race to acquire South Korea’s online retail platform Interpark C...
Aug 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Corporate bonds
KOMIPO raises $300 mn in dollar bonds at lower-than-expected cost
Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) raised $300 million in a dollar corporate bond at a lower interest rate than planned on strong demand among foreign...
Aug 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Netmarble bets $2.2 bn on global social casino game market
South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. decided to buy the world’s No. 3 social casino game publisher SpinX Games for $2.2 billion, bettin...
Aug 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Entertainment
CJ joins race for over $200 mn stake in SM Entertainment
South Korea's entertainment- and food-focused CJ Group has emerged as a darkhorse to buy a controlling stake worth about 300 billion won ($260 milli...
Aug 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Private equity
Mid-sized Korean groups pave way for PEFs' stalled exits
Hoban Group, started as a small residential rental company in Gwangju in 1989, has now emerged as a major player in South Korea's M&A market, in...
Aug 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
MBK seeks to exit Japan's top golf course operator
MBK Partners, a North Asia-focused private equity firm, is seeking to exit Japan's largest golf course operator Accordia Next Golf to capitalize on ...
Aug 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co’s $270 mn deal to buy Namyang Dairy at risk of collapse
South Korean private equity (PE) firm Hahn & Co.’s deal to acquire Namyang Dairy Products is at risk of collapse as the owner and his fami...
Jul 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Ssangyong draws HAAH and electric bus, scooter makers
Ssangyong Motor Co., a troubled South Korean sports utility vehicle maker, has drawn nine preliminary bidders, including a US automobile distributor...
Jul 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
HK inno.N’s IPO attracts $25 bn from retail investors
HK inno.N Corp. (inno.N), a pharmaceuticals unit of Kolmar Korea, drew a massive $25 billion from retail investors for its listing thanks to its s...
Jul 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
IPOs
Krafton sets IPO price at top end despite soft institutional demand
South Korean game developer Krafton Inc. set the initial public offering (IPO) price at the top end of the proposed band even as the largest domesti...
Jul 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Investors revalue E-Mart after owning two-thirds of Starbucks Korea
Shares of E-Mart Inc., South Korea’s largest retailer, are rallying after the company bought an extra stake in Starbucks Korea to control two-...
Jul 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
HK inno.N’s IPO price set at top end with record demand for Kosdaq listing
HK inno.N Corp. (inno.N), a pharmaceuticals unit of South Korea's Kolmar Korea, set the initial public offering price at the top end of the proposed...
Jul 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Energy
CS Wind buys Portugal's offshore wind energy firm
CS Wind Corp., the global leader in the wind tower market, has agreed to buy a majority stake in Portugal's largest wind tower manufacturer ASM Indu...
Jul 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Krafton IPO draws tepid demand from institutional investors
South Korean game developer Krafton Inc.’s initial public offering, the largest domestic IPO in the second half, drew weaker demand from insti...
Jul 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
IPOs
Tencent, Korea Value poised to see sixfold return from KakaoBank
Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings, Korea Value Asset Management Co. and South Korea's top lender Kookmin Bank are among a group of sharehold...
Jul 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Private equity
PEFs claim one-third of S.Korea's M&A deals in H1
Private equity firms (PEFs) have participated in one in every three buyout deals involving South Korean companies in the first six months of the yea...
Jul 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
Hyundai Samho’s IPO faces hurdle on steel prices, baffling IMM PE
Back in the early 2010s, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. was a strong shipbuilder earning 800 billion won ($696 million) a year on sales of 4.8 t...
Jul 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Venture capital
LG expands VC portfolio to industrial cyber security
LG Technology Ventures, a venture capital arm of South Korea's LG Group, has diversified its portfolio into the industrial cybersecurity market with...
Jul 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Krafton aims to become global content provider with $3.7 bn IPO
South Korean game developer Krafton Inc. dreams of growing into global content provider with an up to $3.7 billion fund to be raised from an initial...
Jul 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
ESG
SK, China's Joyvio to launch $90 mn alternative food fund
SK Inc., the investment arm of South Korea's SK Group, will launch a 100 billion won ($90 million) fund jointly with Joyvio Group, a unit of Chinese...
Jul 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Future mobility
GS Group invests $26 mn in Kakao Mobility
South Korea’s GS Group has invested 30 billion won ($26 million) in Kakao Mobility Corp. to fast forward its energy unit’s transition to...
Jul 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
GIC set to buy stake in Starbucks Korea for $700 mn
Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd. is set to sign an agreement next week to buy a 30% stake in Starbucks Korea from the coffeehouse ...
Jul 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
KakaoBank, Krafton, other heavyweights set to sizzle in hot IPO season
South Korea’s initial public offering market is sizzling with KakaoBank Corp. and other big names set to go public in coming weeks amid expect...
Jul 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
GS Energy to sell half of thermal power plant unit to IMM
GS Energy Corp., an intermediate holding company of South Korea's GS Group, is in the final stages of talks to sell a 50% stake in its wholly-owned ...
Jul 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Corporate bonds
Delta variant, rate hike views hurt Korean lower-rated corporate bond sales
South Korean companies with low credit ratings around BBB are suffering weaker demand in the primary market. A spread in the Delta coronavirus varia...
Jul 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Delivery Hero gets 5 more months to sell Yogiyo until January
South Korea’s antitrust regulator said on Thursday it is extending the deadline for Germany’s Delivery Hero SE to sell food delivery pla...
Jul 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
KakaoBank's IPO draws $2 tn in bids despite valuation debate
The initial public offering of South Korea's KakaoBank has drawn the largest-ever amount of bids from institutional investors for a domestic listing...
Jul 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
Private equity
Korean PEFs' 2020 investments, exits at record highs
Private equity firms registered in South Korea posted their largest-ever amount of both investments and divestments in 2020 which were almost balanc...
Jul 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Samsung looks to acquire bio company, reviews botox maker Hugel
Samsung Group is looking to buy a biopharmaceutical company as the top South Korean business conglomerate is resuming merger and acquisition activit...
Jul 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read
Latest News