Deals

IPOs
Kakao Pay cuts IPO price by 6% for October listing
Kakao Pay Corp., the digital settlement platform unit of South Korea’s top messaging app operator Kakao Corp., has slashed its initial public offering (IPO) share price for its planned listing in October.Kakao Pay resumed the process for li
Aug 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
K Bank valued at $6.9 billion, needs to expand loans: Morgan Stanley
K Bank, the digital banking unit of South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp., is valued at 8 trillion won ($6.9 billion) and could further raise i...
Aug 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co. sues Namyang owner over completion of $267 mn deal
South Korea’s private equity firm Hahn & Co. filed a lawsuit against the owner of Namyang Dairy Products and his family to complete a $267...
Aug 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Investment banking
BofA emerges as top dealmaker of S.Korea's mega M&As
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) has emerged as the top M&A dealmaker in South Korea this year, working on a combined 8 trillion won ($7 bil...
Aug 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Coffeebanhada, known for robot barista, seeks investment for expansion
Coffeebanhada, a South Korean budget coffee chain operator, is seeking to attract investment from private equity funds and strategic investors.Accor...
Aug 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Korean firms scramble for bond sales on further rate hike views
South Korean companies rushed to issues bonds as the Bank of Korea is expected to raise interest rates further, ramping up financing costs. Some war...
Aug 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Now is the time for PEFs to show their art of exit
Leading private equity firms, including Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and MBK Partners, appeared to have turned to an exit mode in South Korea this ye...
Aug 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
SM to absorb music production unit before founder's stake sale
SM Entertainment Co., a South Korean music powerhouse, will absorb a music production company wholly owned by its founder and chief producer Lee Soo...
Aug 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
KT makes partial exit from travel platform Yanolja
South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. has made a partial exit from the country’s largest travel platform Yanolja, which is eyeing a US IP...
Aug 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Bain Capital sells management rights of Hugel to GS-led group for $1.5 bn
A consortium led by South Korea’s energy-to-construction conglomerate GS Group has acquired the country’s top botox maker Hugel Inc. fro...
Aug 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Digital healthcare
Naver to enter healthcare business in Korea with investment in ezCaretech
South Korea’s online platform giant Naver Corp. is set to enter the big data-based healthcare industry by investing in ezCaretech Co., a domes...
Aug 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
Are global GSS bonds sustainable?
Global green, social sustainability (GSS) bonds may not be stable enough yet. The bonds where proceeds will be exclusively applied to finance or re-...
Aug 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Citibank Korea’s retail banking exit faces stumbling block
The sale of Citibank Korea’s consumer banking business has hit a stumbling block as the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc. postponed its boar...
Aug 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Kakao Mobility takes first step toward 2022 IPO
Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea's most popular taxi-hailing app, has taken its first step toward a stock market debut, which is expected to value ...
Aug 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Food & Beverage
Namyang ex-chair's no-show for $300 mn deal: What's next
Hong Won-sik, ex-chairman of South Korea’s Namyang Dairy Products Co., appeared to have changed his mind shortly after signing a 310.7 billion...
Aug 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Retail
Japan’s Aeon plans to sell off struggling Ministop Korea
South Korea’s fifth-largest convenience store chain Ministop Korea Co. is up for sale by its owner, the Aeon Group of Japan. Ministop Korea is...
Aug 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
SK Group’s holding firm to absorb SK Materials in corporate restructuring
SK Inc., the investment and holding company of SK Group, will absorb SK Materials Co., the group’s industrial gas manufacturing affiliate, in ...
Aug 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Can SSG.COM IPO succeed despite mounting losses?
SSG.COM, the e-commerce brand of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Inc., reported its second-largest operating loss in the second quarter a...
Aug 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Samsung to unload automaking business
Samsung Group is set to withdraw from the automaking business after 26 years in the industry since establishing Samsung Motors Inc. in 1995. The gro...
Aug 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
BlackRock Real Assets makes first Korean solar investment
BlackRock Real Assets, a unit of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock Inc., has acquired an unspecified stake in Brite Energy Partners ...
Aug 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Equity divestment
Affinity exits Hyundai Card, sells stake to Hyundai Commercial, Fubon
Affinity Equity Partners, a global private equity firm, and its financial partners have exited from their investment in Hyundai Card Co. by selling ...
Aug 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korea's top online flea market startup value up to $2.6 bn
South Korea’s No. 1 online flea market operator Danggeun Market Inc. has increased its valuation to $2.6 billion as it raised $153 million fro...
Aug 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Vietnam's Masan Group to attract $200 mn from Korean PE
Masan Group Corp., Vietnam's leading conglomerate with a diverse range of businesses ranging from food and consumer goods to financial services, wil...
Aug 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
POSCO raises €1.1 bn in convertible green bonds
POSCO Co., the world's fifth-largest steelmaker, has raised €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) through green bonds convertible into its common shares,...
Aug 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Delivery Hero sells Yogiyo to GS Retail, Affinity-led group
Germany’s Delivery Hero SE has signed an agreement to sell South Korea’s second-largest food delivery platform Yogiyo to a consortium of...
Aug 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Baby Shark creator eyes 2022 listing, begins due diligence
South Korea-based edtech startup SmartStudy, the creator of YouTube's current most-viewed video, Pinkfong Baby Shark Dance, has begun preparations f...
Aug 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
IMM puts Hyundai LNG Shipping on sale
IMM put Hyundai LNG Shipping, South Korea’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker operator, on sale in a predicted $1.7 billion deal.IMM Priv...
Aug 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Shinsegae's e-commerce arm SSG.COM seeks 2022 IPO
SSG.COM, the e-commerce brand of South Korea's retail titan Shinsegae Inc., has begun the process to go public next year, with its valuation estimat...
Aug 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Capital raising
SK E&S' $2 bn preferred share deal shortlisted to four candidates
SK E&S Co., the largest city gas supplier in South Korea, has shortlisted four candidates among seven preliminary bidders to invest in 2 trillio...
Aug 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
MBK Partners to sell Doosan Machine Tools for $2.1 bn
MBK Partners, a North Asia-focused private equity firm, agreed to sell South Korean Doosan Machine Tools at $2.1 billion to the country’s DTR ...
Aug 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min readlanguage
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