Deals

Mergers & Acquisitions
eBay Korea set to fuel rivalry between retail, online giants
The planned sale of eBay Inc.’s South Korean operations is gathering steam ahead of Coupang Corp.'s US stock market listing this week, with the country’s dominant mobile platform Kakao Corp., retail giant Shinsegae and private equity fi
Mar 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
SK Bioscience’s $1.3 bn IPO generates $10 mn in underwriting fees
The initial public offering of SK Bioscience Co. was priced at the upper end of its price band of 65,000 won ($57.3) per share on Monday to raise 1....
Mar 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Energy
SK Innovation divests of stakes in US shale oil fields
SK Innovation Co. has sold its entire ownership in its US shale oil fields and their relevant facilities, in line with its parent group's efforts to...
Mar 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korean Air raises $2.9 bn in largest-ever share issue by Korean firm
Korean Air Lines Co. has raised 3.32 trillion won ($2.9 billion) from a new share sale as planned in the the largest-ever rights offering by a domes...
Mar 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Naver picks underwriters for first global bond sale
Naver Corp., South Koreans’ largest online portal, has picked Morgan Stanley and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co. to underwrite its first glo...
Mar 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
SK Bioscience attracts NPS, GIC in successful bookbuilding
South Korea-based SK Bioscience Co. has successfully concluded the bookbuilding for its initial public offering, attracting institutional investors ...
Mar 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Affirma, EastBridge in race for T Map Mobility’s $267 mn fundraising
Global buyout fund Affirma Capital and South Korean private equity firm EastBridge Partners will compete in a race for the 300 billion won ($267 mil...
Mar 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Affinity Equity set to acquire Korea’s top recruitment portal JobKorea
Affinity Equity Partners, a global private equity firm, is set to acquire the entire stake of South Korea’s top recruitment portal JobKorea &n...
Mar 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Logistics
Hyundai Glovis, Changjiu team up to boost China-Europe rail transport
South Korea-based Hyundai Glovis Co. has teamed up with China’s largest automotive logistics firm, Changjiu Group, to foster rail transport op...
Mar 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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REITs
SK Group eyes IPO of headquarter-backed REIT in 2021
South Korea’s SK Group has begun the process to list a real estate investment trust (REIT) backed by its head office building and some 100 pet...
Mar 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Seed investors shy from investing in early stage startups amid pandemic
Early stage startups are almost always risky ventures, promising but unprofitable, and far from market-ready – often making it challenging to ...
Mar 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Logistics
China logistics firms yield decent returns for Korean investors
MBK Partners and two leading South Korean conglomerates – SK and CJ groups – have chalked up hefty returns from investments in Chinese l...
Mar 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Coupang set to raise $3.6 bn via US listing; eyes throne as platform giant
South Korea's e-commerce giant Coupang Corp. is looking to raise up to $3.6 billion via its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange -...
Mar 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Upward IPO price band revisions at all-time high this year
This year, South Korean companies preparing for trading debuts have set their offering prices on average about 27% higher than the proposed price ba...
Mar 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hyundai Heavy hires Korea Investment, 4 others as IPO managers
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., which plans to list its shares on the local bourse this year, has mandated Korea Investment &...
Mar 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Bain Capital to invest $360 mn in Korea’s top ERP developer
Bain Capital has agreed to invest around 400 billion won ($360 million) in South Korea’s leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software d...
Mar 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Enterprise value
Travel platform Yanolja’s enterprise value seen at $11 bn if listed on Nasdaq
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja’s enterprise value could rise to at least $11 billion if the stock is listed on the Nasdaq...
Mar 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Top travel platform Yanolja eyes Q2 IPO review, listing by year-end
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja is looking to have its initial public offering plans reviewed by regulators in the second quarte...
Mar 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Jeju Beer gets the nod for H1 Kosdaq listing
South Korea’s leading craft beer maker Jeju Beer Co. is set to go public in the first half of this year, following the Korea Exchange's approv...
Feb 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Blackstone-backed handbag maker Simone readies for IPO
South Korea-based luxury handbag maker Simone Acc. Collection Ltd. is pushing for an initial public offering this year, paving the way for the globa...
Feb 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Naver invests €115 mn in Spain’s virtual marketplace Wallapop
Naver Corp., South Korea’s top online portal, has invested €115 million in Wallapop, a Spanish virtual marketplace, as part of its effort...
Feb 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK teams with Plug Power to tackle Asia's hydrogen ecosystem
South Korea-based SK Group is ready to take on the growing Asian fuel cell market, having finalized a $1.6 billion deal to acquire around a 10% stak...
Feb 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Korean firms rush to tap bond market ahead of rate hikes
New corporate bond issuance in South Korea is on course to hit 9.2 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in February of this year, the highest amount issued f...
Feb 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Block deal
SK Holdings raises $1 bn from block sale of SK Biopharm shares
South Korea's SK Holdings Co. has offloaded an 11% stake in SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. in a block trade for 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) as part of ...
Feb 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
KKR signs $580 mn share purchase of Hyundai Heavy’s A/S arm
KKR & Co. signed a definitive agreement on Tuesday to buy a stake in Hyundai Global Service Co. from Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. for 6...
Feb 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Joint Ventures
SK Group to sell stake in petrochemical arm; seeks global partnership
South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group is eyeing a joint venture with a global petrochemical firm as part of the group’s stra...
Feb 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
CVC, TPG, MBK, Affinity Equity in final bidding for JobKorea
Local and foreign private equity firms are among the final bidders for the entire stake of South Korea’s top recruitment portal JobKorea &ndas...
Feb 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao's edtech startup eyes 2022 listing
South Korea-based edtech startup Yanadoo is the latest affiliate of Kakao Corp., the country's largest messaging app operator, to prepare for an ini...
Feb 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Rights offerings
Korean Air kicks off biggest-ever rights offer to finance Asiana takeover
Korean Air Lines Co. has kicked off its 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) rights offering, the biggest amount ever by any South Korean company, to help ...
Feb 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Netmarble buys majority stake in US game maker Kung Fu Factory
Netmarble Corp., a South Korean mobile game developer, has acquired a majority stake in Kung Fu Factory, a US independent game company, for an undis...
Feb 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read
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