Deals

Banking & Finance
KB Kookmin Bank issues €500 mn in covered bonds
South Korea's KB Kookmin Bank said on Tuesday that it issued €500 million ($545 million) in global covered bonds the previous day.Covered bonds are issued by financial institutions, backed by high-quality assets they hold as collateral.The inte
Oct 15, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate strategy
K Bank aims to turn into AI-based investment platform: CEO
K Bank, the digital banking unit of South Korean telecom giant KT Corp., aims to turn into an AI-based investment platform after going public later t...
Oct 15, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Sono Hospitality to buy stake in Air Premia to bolster airline portfolio
Sono Hospitality Group, South Korea’s largest resort operator, will add low-cost carrier Air Premia Inc. to its bulging portfolio after agreein...
Oct 15, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
Flashlight Capital offers to buy KT&G’s ginseng business for $1.4 billion
Singapore-based investment management firm Flashlight Capital Partners Pte. (FCP) has offered to buy South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp.'s gins...
Oct 14, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
MBK not to raise Korea Zinc tender offer price after regulator warning
MBK Partners will not raise its tender offer prices again for Korea Zinc Inc. and its affiliate Young Poong Precision Corp. after hiking them twice t...
Oct 10, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Hyundai to launch India’s largest $3.3 bn IPO next week
Hyundai Motor Co.'s Indian subsidiary said on Wednesday it is set to launch its initial public offering, the largest listing in the country, next wee...
Oct 10, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
MBK ups stakes for Korea Zinc to match buyback offer
A consortium of MBK Partners-Young Poong Corp. on Friday raised its tender offer price for Korea Zinc Inc. again and removed the lower limit of its s...
Oct 04, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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League table
UBS retains top position on Korea’s M&A advisor list after Ecorbit deal
UBS Group AG remained on the top of the South Korean merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory market as of the end of the third quarter after adding...
Oct 04, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea Zinc, MBK face-off for control of zinc smelter takes new twist
The face-off between Korea Zinc Inc. and MBK Partners for control of the world's No. 1 lead and zinc smelter shows no sign of abating as the private ...
Oct 04, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea Zinc, Bain Capital offer $2.4 bn share buyback vs MBK
Korea Zinc Inc. said on Wednesday it will buy back shares for 3.1 trillion won ($2.4 billion) with the backing of Bain Capital to counter MBK Partner...
Oct 02, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
HD Hyundai seeks to acquire Leeyoung to prepare for shipbuilding boom
South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is seeking to acquire Leeyoung Industrial Machinery Co., a domestic shipbuilding equipment maker,...
Sep 30, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate restructuring
Korea’s E-Mart to delist troubled building unit for restructuring
South Korea’s largest supermarket chain E-Mart Inc. said on Monday it is set to delist its troubled construction subsidiary from the main local...
Sep 30, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea Zinc to sell $301 mn in CPs amid management feud with MBK
Korea Zinc Inc., the world’s top zinc and lead smelter, is set to sell 400 billion won ($300.9 million) in commercial papers, its first fundrai...
Sep 25, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Fed’s big rate cut spurs Korean firms to issue foreign bonds
South Korean companies rushed to issue foreign currency bonds after the US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time in more than fou...
Sep 25, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s MeatBox to go public despite other failed grocery platform IPOs
MeatBox Global Inc., South Korea’s online livestock product sales platform operator, aims for an initial public offering valued at up to 28.5 b...
Sep 23, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
KCGI buys control of Hanyang Securities for $166 mn
KCGI, a South Korean private equity firm, has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Hanyang Securities Co. for 220.3 billion won ($166 million), sligh...
Sep 20, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
LX Pantos founder’s son sells shares to LX International for $37 mn
The only son of LX Pantos Co.’s late founder has unloaded his additional shares in the company to South Korean logistics-to-trading conglomerat...
Sep 16, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leadership & Management
MBK, Young Poong seek $1.5 bn hostile bid for Korea Zinc
MBK Partners Ltd., the North Asia-focused private equity firm, is set to take over Korea Zinc Inc. through an up to 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) hos...
Sep 13, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
Hanwha to take full control of S’pore Dyna-Mac with tender offer
South Korea’s chemicals-to-defense conglomerate Hanwha Group plans to acquire all shares it does not own in Dyna-Mac Holdings Ltd., a Singapore...
Sep 12, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Food & Beverage
AB InBev's Oriental Brewery buys Jeju Soju from Shinsegae
Oriental Brewery Co. (OB), a unit of the world’s largest beer company AB InBev, agreed on Wednesday to purchase Jeju Soju from Shinsegae L&...
Sep 11, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s Gordon Ramsay accelerates moves for $63 mn IPO
TheBorn Korea Inc., a leading South Korean food and beverage group operated by TV celebrity and chef Paik Jong-won, has accelerated its moves for an ...
Sep 06, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Online lender K Bank aims for IPO at $4 bn valuation in Q4
Kbank, a South Korean online bank, is preparing to list on the main bourse Kospi at an estimated value of up to 5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in the ...
Sep 06, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Food & Beverage
Goldman Sachs to sell stake in Korea’s top food ingredient wholesaler
Goldman Sachs is set to sell its stake in South Korea’s leading food ingredient wholesaler in an estimated 120 billion won ($89.4 million) deal...
Sep 03, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Activst fund KCGI struggles to fund Hanyang Securities deal
KCGI, a South Korean private equity firm, has been struggling to raise funds for its 244.9-billion-won ($183 million) purchase of a controlling stake...
Sep 03, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Will Samsung take over Nokia’s mobile network assets?
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smartphone maker, has expressed interest in the mobile networks business of Nokia Oyj, a global teleco...
Sep 01, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
MBK Partners’ sale of Homeplus Express hits snag over valuation gap
MBK Partners’ planned sale of Homeplus Express, the supermarket chain of South Korean hypermarket operator Homeplus, has hit a snag as potentia...
Aug 30, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Doosan Bobcat scraps merger with Doosan Robotics
Doosan Group on Thursday scrapped a merger between heavy machinery maker Doosan Bobcat Inc. and collaborative robot manufacturer Doosan Robotics Inc....
Aug 29, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Woori signs $1.16 bn deal to acquire Tongyang, ABL Life from China’s Dajia
Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, said on Wednesday it has signed a deal to acquire Tongyan...
Aug 28, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Korea’s Tmax Group buys back software developer for $612 mn
South Korea’s Tmax Group bought back the software making unit it had sold to a local private equity firm two years ago to try to boost synergy ...
Aug 23, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
NPS to veto SK Innovation’s merger with LNG affiliate
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), manager of the world’s third-largest public pension fund, said on Thursday it is set to vet...
Aug 23, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read
Latest News
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- 3 Trump Jr. meets Korean business chiefs in back-to-back sessions
- 4 Samsung in talks to supply customized HBM4 to Nvidia, Broadcom, Google
- 5 Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand