Korean pre-IPO funding
Scope
Date
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IPOs
BTS members eye $21 mn windfall each from agency’s IPO
The seven members of the global boy band BTS may see their shares in Bit Hit Entertainment Co. rocket to as high as 24 billion won ($21 million) each ...
Oct 07, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
Hyundai Heavy, and five other Korean groups shortlisted for Doosan Infracore deal
Doosan Group has shortlisted six bidders, including Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co., and four local private equity groups, to acquire a controll...
Oct 07, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio
Celltrion founder aims to raise $1 bn for healthcare startup from global funds
Seo Jung-jin, founder and chairman of South Korea’s biosimilar maker Celltrion Group, said on Oct. 6 that he is in talks with a number of global...
Oct 07, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Big Hit scores second-highest IPO subscription ever at $50.4 bn
Big Hit Entertainment Co., the label behind global boy band sensation BTS, pulled in 58.4 trillion won ($50.4 billion) with shares oversubscribed by 6...
Oct 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean brokerage firms sitting on $7 bn in overseas properties yet to sell down
South Korean brokerage firms, having scooped up $20 billion worth of overseas real estate deals over the past three years, are now saddled with $7 bil...
Oct 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Multi asset funds
Yellow Umbrella Mutual to invest $500 mn in global multi-asset funds
The Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund, a $12 billion savings arm for South Korea’s small business owners, has entrusted two Korean asset managers ...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s biggest fried chicken brand aims to raise up to $61 mn in Nov. IPO
Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator, plans to raise up to 71.3 billion won ($61 million) in an initial public ...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Robust SUV sales drive Korean carmakers’ US market share to 9-yr high
South Korean automakers’ share of the US passenger car market has risen to its highest level in nine years, boosted by brisk sales of sport util...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hyosung to accelerate asset sales, IPOs to spur growth in hydrogen, data businesses
Hyosung Group, a South Korean textile and chemicals conglomerate, is accelerating efforts to sell assets and list major subsidiaries on the local bour...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Cafe-goers' bucketlist
Felt Coffee introduces minimalism to Korean coffee shops
Two years ago, a new coffee shop appeared in Gwanghwamun, one of the busiest office districts in Seoul, redirecting the daily traffic of businesspeo...
Sep 30, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Top Korean travel platform Yanolja to join startups lining up for IPOs
South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja is planning to list on the domestic stock market in 2022, paving the way for Singapore’s GIC...
Sep 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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BTS label Big Hit prices IPO at top end of range at $115
Big Hit Entertainment Co. has priced its public share offering at the top end of its proposed range at 135,000 won ($115), with bids outnumbering offe...
Sep 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean 100-year-old traditional house becomes trendy destination for cafe-goers
The life of a building emulates the human experience more than we suspect -- encountering countless number of people, wearing down with age, and event...
Sep 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean regulator mulls flat-rate underwriting fees to cool IPO hype
South Korean financial regulators are considering introducing flat-rate underwriting fees for initial public offerings, in a move seen aimed at coolin...
Sep 25, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Startups
Korean unicorn Krafton eyes 2021 IPO to raise over $850 mn
South Korean games developer Krafton Inc., 13.2% owned by Tencent Holdings’ investment arm, is seeking to raise over 1 trillion won ($852 millio...
Sep 24, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s mobile banking app KakaoBank to push for 2021 IPO
KakaoBank Corp., the mobile banking arm of South Korea’s online messaging app operator Kakao Corp., is planning an initial public offering next ...
Sep 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Tesla unveiling offers opportunity for Korean EV battery makers; shares down
Tesla Inc.’s announcement that it will adopt a new battery technology to significantly improve an electric vehicle’s range and power shoul...
Sep 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Investment banking
Global IBs scurry to win IPO mandates for LG Chem’s battery business spin-off
Global investment banks are scrambling to win IPO mandates for LG Chem Ltd.’s battery business, which the South Korean company plans to hiv...
Sep 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPO
SK Innovation’s battery arm secures $258 mn in pre-IPO placement
SK Innovation Co.’s wholly owned subsidiary SK IE Technology Co. (SK IET) is set to fetch 300 billion won ($257.6 million) in a pre-IPO placemen...
Sep 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPO
BTS label Big Hit’s caginess upsets investors ahead of IPO bookbuilding
Big Hit Entertainment Co., home to the seven-member boy band BTS, is set to hold its first official IPO-related conference for South Korean institutio...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
S. Korean automakers rise despite stronger Korean currency
Shares of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. are rising despite the rising trend in the value of the Korean won versus the dollar, which usually w...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
KB Investment bulks up VC funds as parent group drives SE Asia expansion
KB Investment Co., the venture capital arm of South Korea’s KB Financial Group, is raising 100 billion won ($86 million) in a fund to invest in ...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Foreign exchange
Korean won rebounds to pre-pandemic level; more gains seen until US election
The South Korean won leapt to its highest close in eight months against the dollar on Sept. 18, powered by foreign investors’ week-long stock bu...
Sep 18, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
LG Chem says dual listing of battery subsidiary possible, rules out pre-IPO
South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. may list its soon-to-be-launched battery subsidiary not just on the local bourse but also on overseas exchanges to ra...
Sep 18, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean Air seeks to sell 73-story skyscraper amid financial woes
Korean Air Lines. Co. is reaching out to overseas investors to gauge their interest in acquiring Wilshire Grand Center, a landmark building in Los Ang...
Sep 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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National Pension Service
NPS to cease paying management fees for Korean PEF project funds
The National Pension Service has decided to stop paying management fees for project funds to be launched by South Korean private equity firms, after r...
Sep 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
LG Chem to launch battery affiliate Dec. 1; IPO under review
LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemicals maker, has endorsed a company plan to spin off its battery business as a standalone entity to stre...
Sep 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Restructuring
Korean Air to lend $950 mn to US hotel unit for debt repayment
Korean Air Lines Co. will provide $950 million in loans to its fully owned US hotel operator which has $900 million in debt maturing this month, the c...
Sep 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension fund
Korean pensions sell off net $2.6 bn in domestic equities since August
South Korea’s pension funds including the National Pension Service sold off a net 3.12 trillion won ($2.6 billion) worth of domestic equities fr...
Sep 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech
Korea’s big data companies eye IPOs as investors flush with cash
Tech investors are set to be deluged with initial public offerings as South Korea’s big data companies are pushing to list their shares amid a d...
Sep 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
- 1 Hyundai, Kia’s H1 vehicle sales in Singapore double, aided by HMGICS
- 2 Korea’s reshoring companies pale amid lack of support, incentives, tax breaks
- 3 Hyundai, Waymo forge multi-year, strategic partnership for self-driving vehicles
- 4 AI startup MarqVision raises $16.5 mn to close Series A
- 5 Taihan Cable wins $630 mn power grid project in Singapore