Deals

Private equity
Korean PE Centroid among shortlisted bidders for TaylorMade Golf
South Korea’s lesser-known private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners is among the shortlisted candidates for US sports equipment manufacturing firm TaylorMade Golf Co., up for sale with an estimated $2 billion price tag.According to th
Apr 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Kakao to buy fashion app, pushing aside eBay Korea
Kakao Corp., South Korea's top mobile messaging app operator, is set to acquire a majority stake in Zigzag, a domestic online fashion platform targe...
Apr 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Hankook Tire to sell stake in Hanon Systems, eyes $900 mn gains
South Korea’s Hankook Tire & Technology Co. plans to divest of its 19.5% stake in Hanon Systems Corp., an auto parts maker, in a move that...
Apr 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Private equity
IMM PE's art of the exit: Cable maker, online mall
Seoul-based IMM Private Equity has come into the spotlight with a series of lucrative exits in South Korea, including the 265 billion won ($237 mill...
Apr 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
S.Korea's color cosmetics leader C&C to list in May
South Korea’s leading color cosmetics manufacturer C&C International Co. will be listed on Kosdaq in May, with expected market capitalizat...
Apr 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
Korean Investors
Naver invests $150 million in Indonesia’s No.1 media group Emtek
South Korea’s online platform giant Naver Corp. has invested $150 million in Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek), Indonesia’s largest techno...
Apr 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Sale of Korea’s No.2 delivery app Yogiyo kicks off with May 4 prelim bid
The sale of South Korea’s second-largest food delivery app Yogiyo has kicked off with the sell-side issuing an information memorandum to poten...
Apr 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Deep inside the deal: HYBE-Ithaca merger
The recent merger deal between two global entertainment powerhouses, HYBE Co. of South Korea and Ithaca Holdings of the US, will create a mega music...
Apr 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Kakao Japan seeks $446 million from Anchor Equity
Kakao Corp.’s Japanese unit, which operates Japan’s largest webtoon platform Piccoma, is in talks to attract as much as 500 billion won ...
Apr 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Retail
SK Group acquires 16.3% of Vietnam’s top retailer for $410 million
South Korea’s SK Group has acquired 16.3% of Vincommerce, Vietnam’s top retail business operator, for $410 million as part of a move to ...
Apr 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Entertainment
BTS, Bieber, Lovato celebrate HYBE-Ithaca alliance
HYBE Co. and Ithaca Holdings, the two entertainment powerhouses that recently joined hands to create the mega music label that will house BTS, Arian...
Apr 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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EV batteries
SK Group eyes jackpot from investment in battery maker SES
South Korea’s SK Group is expected to pocket at least a tenfold return from its investment in electric vehicle battery startup SES as the batt...
Apr 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
Digital contents
Kakao in talks to buy US fiction app in heated IP rivalry
South Korea's mobile giant Kakao Corp. is in negotiations to buy the management rights of US-based mobile fiction startup Radish Fiction for around ...
Apr 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
Korean casino game developer revives Nasdaq IPO plan
DoubleDown Interactive LLC, a South Korean social casino game publisher, has resumed its Nasdaq listing process, tapping the red-hot US IPO market w...
Apr 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
HYBE-Ithaca merger puts BTS, Justin Bieber under one roof
BTS, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande will be under the same music label group through a historic M&A deal between HYBE Corporation, formerly Big...
Apr 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Hynix ponders fate of Kioxia stake after bids by Micron, WDC
The reported bids to buy Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. by Micron Technology Inc. and Western Digital Corp. is raising market chatter over...
Apr 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
IPOs
SK IE Technology’s IPO plan to get boost from ITC ruling
SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), set to make a trading debut on Korea’s main bourse in May, is expected to get a favorable review in assessing it...
Apr 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Shinsegae buys Korean online fashion mall from IMM PE
Shinsegae Group has acquired South Korea's leading online fashion platform from IMM Private Equity, in a transaction estimated at between 250 billio...
Apr 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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League table
Morgan Stanley tops Korea's Q1 M&A league table
Morgan Stanley reclaimed its top position in South Korea's M&A advisor league table in the first quarter of this year for the first time in two ...
Mar 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean food
SK acquires 70% stake in Yposkesi to jump into cell, gene CMO business
SK Inc., the holding and investment company of SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, has acquired a 70% stake in Yposkesi, a Fre...
Mar 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
SoftBank-backed Balance Hero raises $10 mn in debt funding from India
South Korean fintech startup Balance Hero has raised around $10 million in debt funding led by the India-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) ...
Mar 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Snowballing losses cloud Hyundai Heavy’s 2021 IPO plans
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. saw its net losses snowball in 2020, clouding its initial public offering plans for this year....
Mar 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min readlanguage -
Venture capital
KTB Network wins jackpot from Korean delivery app sale
KTB Network Co., a South Korean venture capital firm, has pocketed a double-digit return, or 62.5 billion won ($55 million) from the sale of its sta...
Mar 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
IMM PE exits S.Korea's No.2 electric wire manufacturer
Seoul-based IMM Private Equity has fully exited its 300 billion won ($265 million) investment in the country's No. 2 electric wire manufacturer by s...
Mar 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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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 star...
Mar 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min readlanguage -
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)
3 Min readlanguage -
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)
4 Min readlanguage
Latest News
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- 3 Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition
- 4 BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales amid imported vehicle market shake-up
- 5 Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs