Deals

Airlines
Korean Air bid to acquire Asiana faces challenges, activist opposition
The owner of Korean Air Lines Co.’s reported bid to acquire local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. faces several hurdles, including painful job cuts, rising acquisition costs and concerns over the creation of an air industry monopoly in South Korea.I
Nov 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korean Air, Asiana may merge MRO businesses after spin-off
South Korea’s two largest airliners, Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., may combine their airplane repair and maintenance businesses...
Nov 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Chicken stock Kyochon debuts at upper limit, allays IPO concerns
South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator Kyochon F&B debuted on the main bourse with its shares rising to the upper daily limit,...
Nov 12, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airlines
Parent of Korean Air seeks to buy rival Asiana Airlines
Hanjin Group, which owns South Korea’s flag-carrier Korean Air Lines Co., is seeking to buy local rival Asiana Airlines Inc., signaling a mega d...
Nov 12, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor hires Goldman as adviser for Boston Dynamics acquisition
Hyundai Motor Co. has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as its adviser in its attempt to acquire Boston Dynamics Inc., signaling the seriousness of the S...
Nov 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
GS Retail, Home Shopping merge to become retail giant
South Korean conglomerate GS Holdings has decided to merge two of its retail units — the country's No. 1 convenience store chain operator and a ...
Nov 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor may buy Boston Dynamics to bolster robotics business
Hyundai Motor Co. may acquire Boston Dynamics Inc., a US-based robotics company, from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. in a deal worth as much as $1...
Nov 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Elecfoil maker IMM Tech aims Korean listing
Iljin Materials Co., a South Korean battery materials maker, is planning to list its Malaysia-based subsidiary IMM Technology on South Korea’s b...
Nov 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
Hyundai seeks cut in $1.9 bn Daewoo Shipbuilding deal price
Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. is seeking to cut the 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) acquisition price for a majority stake in South Korean riv...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Healthcare
Korea's most-repurchased mask maker up for sale
Wellkeeps Co., a South Korean mask manufacturer, has issued an information memorandum to potential buyers including financial investors and strategic ...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Multiplex chains
Korean cinema chain foregoes IPO plans due to COVID-19
Megabox JoongAng Co., the third-largest cinema chain in South Korea, will forego plans to go public owing to the global coronavirus crisis that has de...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s No. 1 chicken franchise raises $8.2bn in subscriptions
South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator Kyochon F&B pulled in a staggering $8.2 billion in deposits during its two-day public s...
Nov 04, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea's largest job portal JobKorea up for sale
South Korea-based private equity firm H&Q has begun the sale process for JobKorea, the country's largest job portal estimated to be worth up to $7...
Nov 04, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korean fried chicken brand draws over 1,000 investors in bookbuilding
Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator, wrapped up a successful bookbuilding for institutional investors with bid...
Nov 02, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Samyang joins bid to acquire US-based chemical maker Emerald Kalama
Samyang Holdings Corporation, a South Korean manufacturer of food and chemical products, has joined the bid to acquire US-based Emerald Kalama Chemica...
Nov 01, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Subordinated bond issues
Kookmin Bank sells $500 mn in subordinated bonds to fund ESG projects
South Korea’s Kookmin Bank has issued $500 million in subordinated bonds as part of its efforts to expand loans for environmental, social and go...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Virtual reality
Korean VR startup acquired by Fortnite creator
Hyprsense, a facial motion capture software developer, has been acquired by Epic Games, the creator of international blockbuster game Fortnite, accord...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Lotte Rental shelves share sale plan as IPO market cools
Lotte Group has indefinitely postponed its plan to list Lotte Rental Co., in the latest sign of a cooldown in the local initial public offering market...
Oct 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
IMM, four other local PEFs shortlisted for CJ Olive Young pre-IPO
IMM Private Equity and four other South Korean private equity firms have been shortlisted for health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young’s pre-i...
Oct 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
TPG to invest $222 mn in mobile banking app KakaoBank
TPG will acquire a 2.7% stake in South Korea’s mobile banking app KakaoBank for 250 billion won ($222 million) ahead of an initial public offeri...
Oct 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bond issues
Kakao's exchangeable bond issue lures global investors
South Korea’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. is raising the price of shares to be converted from its exchangeable bond issue in Singapore on ...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Doosan Infracore
GS E&C challenges Hyundai Heavy in Doosan deal
GS Engineering & Construction Co. (GS E&C) has joined the bidding for a stake in Doosan Infracore Co. after the bid submission deadline, a mov...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hydrogen tank supplier to Hyundai prepares for 2021 IPO
Iljin Composites Corp., the only South Korean manufacturer of composite fuel tanks, is set to mandate Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. and Samsung Securities Co...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Firms vie to become Krafton's $883 mn IPO manager
A competitive lineup of securities firms gathered at game developer Krafton Inc.'s office building in Pangyo, Gyeonggi province on Oct. 21 to pitch fo...
Oct 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leveraged buyout
Korean M&A industry may reconsider leveraged buyouts
South Korea’s M&A market may reconsider leveraged buyouts due to the Supreme Court’s remanding of the case involving Sun Jong-koo, the...
Oct 20, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
SK Hynix to buy Intel’s NAND business in $9 bn cash deal
SK Hynix Inc. has signed a 10.3 trillion won ($9 billion) all-cash deal to buy Intel Corp.’s NAND memory chip business that will propel the Sout...
Oct 20, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Coffee Bean Korea seeks 100% stake sell-off
South Korea’s popular coffee house Coffee Bean Korea Co. is seeking to sell a 100% stake in the company held by Chief Executive Officer Park San...
Oct 19, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Waste management
KKR buys $386 mn stake in Korean sewage disposal firm
KKR & Co. has purchased a combined 440.8 billion won ($386 million) worth of shares in TSK Corp., a leading South Korean sewage and wastewater tre...
Oct 19, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korean IPOs lose steam as Big Hit shares plummet
Big Hit Entertainment Co., the South Korean entertainment agency behind global sensation BTS, saw its shares drop by as much as 22% on Oct.16, the sec...
Oct 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Korea's beauty chain pre-IPO attracts PEFs
South Korea's largest health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young has received preliminary bids from around seven participants including global and dom...
Oct 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read
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