Deals

Prolonged pandemic
Incheon Int'l Airport raises $300 mn in first global bond sale
South Korea's government-owned Incheon International Airport Corp. has raised $300 million in its first global bond sale to ease financial difficulties caused by travel restrictions in the prolonged pandemic situation. The airport operator sold th
Apr 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
SK IE Technology’s IPO price set at top end; record demand at bookbuilding
The initial public offering price of South Korea’s SK IE Technology Co. has been set at the top end of the proposed band, reflecting a recor...
Apr 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean stock market
Samsung Display sells back 35 million Corning shares for $1.6 billion
Samsung Display Co., South Korea’s largest display maker, is selling 35 million shares in Corning Inc. back to the US company for an estimated...
Apr 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Fintech platform Kakao Pay applies for Kospi IPO
Kakao Pay Corp., a unit of South Korea's largest mobile messaging app Kakao Corp., submitted an application for its initial public offering with the...
Apr 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
VC firms queue up for IPOs as startup valuations soar
A slew of South Korean venture capital firms are knocking on the doors of the domestic stock market, with startup investments hitting the jackpot am...
Apr 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Evercore joins as advisor for S.Korea’s Hanon Systems stake sale
Evercore Inc., a New York-based boutique investment banking advisory firm, is joining hands with Morgan Stanley to co-manage the sale of a majority ...
Apr 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
IMM Private Equity to acquire 40% stake in SK Lubricants for $900 million
Seoul-based IMM Private Equity will acquire a 40% stake in South Korea’s SK Lubricants Co., wholly owned by SK Innovation Co., for about one t...
Apr 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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COVID-19
Korean PEFs raise bets on pandemic-hit aircraft sector
The aviation industry, one of the hardest-hit sectors by the global pandemic, is now whetting the appetite of South Korean private equity firms whic...
Apr 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
DONT PUBLISH/EDIT ONLY: FiscalNote en route to US listing; valuation to reach $2 bn
FiscalNote, a Washington D.C.-based tech firm that uses artificial intelligence and big data to track, predict and analyze regulations and legislati...
Apr 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Financing
Naver mulls US listing for webtoon business
South Korea’s top online portal Naver Corp. is considering more dollar bond sales after it raised $500 million last month in its first foreign...
Apr 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
EV batteries
Copper foil maker raises $700 mn funding to build Europe plant
South Korea's Iljin Materials Co., which produces copper foils for rechargeable batteries and printed circuit boards (PCBs), has received 800 billio...
Apr 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Waste management
EastBridge beats KKR, TPG to buy Korean waste disposal firm
South Korea-based EastBridge Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the country's waste treatment firm YIDO for around 260 billion won (...
Apr 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hyundai denies talks to sell stake in Rotem to Siemens
Hyundai Motor Co. said on Wednesday that it is not seeking to sell a stake in Hyundai Rotem Co., in response to reports that the South Korean carmak...
Apr 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Upcoming IPOs
Referral-based job portal Wantedlab applies for H2 IPO
Wantedlab Inc., South Korea's first referral-based recruiting platform, is aiming to list on the country's junior Kosdaq market in the second half o...
Apr 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Capital raising
SK E&S seeks global IB to raise up to $3 bn in 2021
SK E&S Co. will hire a global investment bank to launch the process of raising 2 trillion-3 trillion won ($2 billion-$3 billion) in new capital ...
Apr 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Citibank Korea's retail arm sale may fuel M&A market
Citigroup Inc.'s plan to exit from South Korea's retail banking market may invigorate the country's M&A market, with small-sized, non-banking fi...
Apr 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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ESG bonds
Hanwha Solutions to raise 1 billion yuan in ESG bonds
South Korea’s leading renewable energy company Hanwha Solutions Corp. plans to raise 1 billion Chinese yuan ($153 million) this month in green...
Apr 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao Bank applies for preliminary review of 2021 IPO
Kakao Bank, South Korea's No.1 mobile banking app., has kicked off the process to go public by applying for a preliminary review of its stock market...
Apr 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Tech, Media & Telecom
Naver, Kakao vie for Korean web novel platform
Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., South Korea's two online giants, are competing to acquire Munpia Inc., their smaller domestic rival in the web novel ma...
Apr 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
SK Telecom to split into mobile and non-mobile units
South Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. will split into two separate entities. SK Telecom said on Apr. 14 that it will create a ne...
Apr 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min readlanguage -
Investment returns
Korean funds, firms eye jackpot from Grab’s Nasdaq listing
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), other state-run savings funds and big companies are expected to pocket decent gains from their...
Apr 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Hyundai Engineering seeks Q3 IPO; seen as precursor to group revamp
Hyundai Engineering Co., an unlisted construction affiliate of the Hyundai Motor Group, is seeking an initial public offering on the Korean bourse, ...
Apr 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
Doosan taps PEFs to sell copper clad board division
Doosan Co., the holding company of South Korea's Doosan Group, is in contact with several private equity firms to sell its in-house electronic mater...
Apr 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Kia raises $700 mn in foreign green bonds
Kia Corp. has issued its first foreign currency ESG bonds worth $700 million to strengthen its investment in electric vehicles and other eco-friendl...
Apr 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Outback Steakhouse Korea put up for sale by PEF
South Korea-based private equity firm Skylake Equity Partners is seeking to sell a 100% stake in Outback Steakhouse Korea, as the PE firm and sale m...
Apr 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Foreign currency bonds
Hanwha Solutions eyes $300 mn green dim sum bond issue
Hanwha Solutions Corp., a South Korean petrochemical and renewable energy company, plans to raise 2 billion yuan ($300 million) in a green bond issu...
Apr 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Samsung-backed semiconductor parts maker eyes IPO
MiCo Ceramics Ltd., a semiconductor equipment parts subsidiary of the industrial ceramics maker MiCo Co., is pushing forward with IPO preparations. ...
Apr 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
PUBG publisher applies for South Korean 2021 IPO
South Korea-based game developer Krafton Inc., touted as one of this year's hottest initial public offerings, has filed a preliminary listing applic...
Apr 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Platform valuations
Kakao Entertainment’s enterprise value seen above $8.9 billion
Kakao Entertainment Corp. is working to make a trading debut on the domestic bourse in the latter part of this year or in 2022 at the latest. And th...
Apr 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Block deal
Korea state agency sells $134 mn Woori Fin shares
The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) has reduced its stake in Woori Financial Group to 15.25% by selling 149.2 billion won ($134 million) worth ...
Apr 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read
Latest News
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