Deals

Future mobility
Hanwha seeks to acquire Overair; invest in satellite, drone companies
Hanwha Systems Co., the defense and information technology service unit of Hanwha Group, is seeking to purchase the entire stake of US air taxi startup Overair and buy into two other aerospace-related companies as it bets big on future mobility.To
Mar 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Tel, Shinsegae, Lotte, MBK make the cut in eBay Korea deal
Four out of the five preliminary bidders for eBay Korea, including SK Telecom Co. and MBK Partners, have made the cut in the deal estimated at aroun...
Mar 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Chinese PE firm pays $1.4 bn to take over Magnachip Semiconductor
South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. announced on Mar. 27 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by China-ba...
Mar 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Kurly hires Goldman, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley for US listing
Kurly Inc., the operator of premium grocery delivery platform Market Kurly, will push forward in its US IPO aims with three global investment banks ...
Mar 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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MBK girds for eBay Korea deal as competition heats up
MBK Partners is the only financial bidder for eBay Korea, the wholly-owned unit of the US online retailer, which has drawn top Korean retailers, the...
Mar 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Portfolio readjustments
NPS under fire over rule change to raise domestic stock purchase limit
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) came under fire over its expected rule change aimed at raising the upper limit for domestic stock...
Mar 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Lotte buys S.Korea’s top secondhand e-commerce platform
South Korea’s retail giant Lotte is expanding its presence in the e-commerce sector with the acquisition of Joonggonara, the country’s l...
Mar 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Debt financing
Naver issues $500 million in first foreign debt amid strong demand
South Korea’s top online portal Naver Corp. has successfully issued its first foreign currency bonds worth $500 million amid strong demand as ...
Mar 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio business
Lotte advances into bio business, to acquire stake in Enzychem
South Korea’s Lotte Group is entering the bio business for the first time in its history by acquiring a significant stake in Enzychem Lifescie...
Mar 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Travel platform Yanolja eyes US IPO in dual listing
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja has begun the internal process to list in both the US and South Korea, by which the company expe...
Mar 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co. to put Korean auto parts maker up for sale
South Korea's private equity firm Hahn & Co. is seeking to sell a majority stake in Hanon Systems, a Korean automotive supplier, which is expect...
Mar 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Lawyers on move
Global law firms in Korea hunt for talent amid growing outbound M&As
Leading international law firms with offices in South Korea are gearing up for growing legal service demand from local companies in their push for m...
Mar 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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BofA replaces Korea IB head, country manager
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) has named managing director Cho Chanhee as its South Korean investment banking head to replace Park SeungGu who...
Mar 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Coupang's US listing: How to split $95.6 mn underwriting fees?
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Allen & Company and six other underwriters of Coupang Corp.'s US stock market listing last week are set to receive a co...
Mar 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean stock market
Krafton plans 5-for-1 share split ahead of over $880 million IPO
South Korean games developer Krafton Inc., 13.2% owned by Tencent Holdings’ investment arm, plans a five-for-one share split ahead of its plan...
Mar 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor invests in Clearpath Robotics in push for future mobility
Hyundai Motor Co. has invested $5 million in Clearpath Robotics Inc., a Canada-based robotics startup, in a stepped-up push to transform into a comp...
Mar 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Share swap
Shinsegae, Naver ink $221 mn share swap to rival Coupang in e-commerce
South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group and top portal operator Naver Corp. have agreed to a 250 billion won ($221 million) share swap to s...
Mar 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
eBay Korea draws SK Tel, Shinsegae and MBK
The sale of eBay Korea Inc., the country's third-largest online shopping platform, has attracted preliminary bids from leading Korean companies incl...
Mar 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Delivery Hero kicks off sale of S.Korea's No.2 delivery app Yogiyo
Germany-based online food delivery service Delivery Hero SE has kicked off the sale process of South Korea's second-largest food delivery app, Yogiy...
Mar 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Lubricants draws Japan's refiner Enoes, three PEFs
Japan's biggest refiner Enoes Corp. is one of the four final bidders for a minority stake in South Korea's SK Lubricants Co., wholly owned by SK Inn...
Mar 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Coupang CEO: S.Korean e-commerce market 'isn't small,' offers robust growth potential
South Korea's e-commerce giant Coupang Corp. had a successful trading debut in New York on Thursday as its shares soared by 41% in their first sessi...
Mar 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Hynix's Intel NAND chip deal wins US regulatory approval
The US antitrust regulators have approved of SK Hynix Inc.'s $9 billion acquisition of Intel Corp.'s NAND memory chip business, also under review by...
Mar 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Coupang soars 41% on US trading debut
South Korea's Coupang Corp. made its trading debut in New York on Thursday, with shares rocketing 41% from their $35 opening price to close at $49.2...
Mar 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Affirma, EastBridge to invest $350 mn in SK's mobility venture
Affirma Capital and South Korea-based EastBridge Partners will invest a combined 400 billion won ($350 million) in SK Telecom Co.'s mobility...
Mar 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Daewoo E&C up for sale; in talks with local PEF over $1.58 bn deal
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. is up for sale as its main creditor hopes to cash out of the South Korean builder on the back of its impro...
Mar 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
SK Bioscience IPO draws record-high demand from retail investors
South Korean vaccine maker SK Bioscience Co. has set a new record for initial public offering demand, raising around 63.6 trillion won ($56 billio...
Mar 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Carlyle ends negotiations to buy Korean bakery chain
The Carlyle Group has terminated three-month talks with South Korea’s CJ Group to buy the country’s No. 2 bakery chain Tous Les Jours, a...
Mar 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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SK Group's financial story: Measure, divest and focus
Last month, South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group agreed to sell its 21-year-old baseball club SK Wyverns to the country’s leading...
Mar 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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SK in stake sale talks for SPC set up to buy Plug Power
SK Holdings Co. is in negotiations with several private equity firms to sell up to a 49% stake in a special purpose company (SPC) set up to invest $...
Mar 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Kakao forays into pet taxi service; buys Pet Me Up
South Korea-based Kakao Mobility Corp., a subsidiary of mobile giant Kakao Corp., has acquired the country's leading pet taxi service, Pet Me Up, in...
Mar 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read
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