Deals

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 when their label debuts on the Seoul stock market next week.They were collectively awarded 478,695 s
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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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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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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League table
Credit Suisse lead-manages Doosan Group’s restructuring deals
Credit Suisse handled three restructuring deals worth a combined 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) for South Korea’s Doosan Group and 1.5 trillion w...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao Pay set to be Korea's first mobile-payment fintech to go public
Kakao Pay Corp. is set to become South Korea’s first mobile-payment fintech company to go public as the company kicks off preparations for an in...
Sep 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&As
Hyundai Heavy, MBK among prelim bidders of Doosan Infracore
Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co., the world’s biggest shipbuilder and South Korea-based MBK Partners have submitted non-binding bids for a ...
Sep 28, 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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M&As
Lotte Group to invest $258 mn in Doosan Solus to boost footing in EV market
Lotte Group will commit 300 billion won ($257.5 million) to Doosan Solus Co., a battery copper foil and OLED materials maker acquired by SkyLake Inves...
Sep 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bond issue
Shinhan Bank sells $285 mn in Australian-dollar social bonds
Shinhan Bank has raised A$400 million ($285 million) in five-year bonds denominated in the Australian dollar to fund lending to pandemic-hit companies...
Sep 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPO
BTS' Big Hit focuses on sustainable fandom-based business model
Big Hit Entertainment Co., behind the K-pop idols BTS, is switching its focus to online concerts, merchandise and character businesses from offline pe...
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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Debt
Korea’s ESG corporate bond issues on course to top $5 bn in 2020
South Korean companies’ issues of environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds have almost doubled to 5.7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) so far...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Restructuring
Kumho Asiana Group eyes sale of affiliate golf course and resort
Kumho Asiana Group, the parent company of cash-strapped Asiana Airlines Inc., plans to put up affiliate Kumho Resort for sale as part of self-rescue m...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
HAAH Automotive proposes $258 mn investment in Ssangyong Motor
HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc., a US automobile distributor, has offered to invest 300 billion won ($258 million) in Ssangyong Motor Co. as part of its...
Sep 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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AXA General sale off to shaky start with Kyobo Life as sole bidder
The sale process of AXA General Insurance Co. got off to a shaky start with only Kyobo Life Insurance Co. making a preliminary bid on Sept. 18. S...
Sep 18, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
SK sells 4.6% in Asian logistics property developer ESR for $408 million
South Korea’s SK Corp. has sold part of its stake in ESR Cayman Ltd., an Asian logistics real estate developer, for 480 billion won ($408 millio...
Sep 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&A
LG Household continues cross-border M&A push in cosmetics market
LG Household & Health Care Ltd. was the most aggressive South Korean cosmetics firm in the cross-border M&A market between 2010 and 2019, with...
Sep 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korea’s car-sharing platform becomes 12th unicorn following $42.5 mn injection
South Korea’s leading car-sharing platform Socar Inc. has become the country's 12th unicorn valued at around 1.1 trillion won after re...
Sep 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Debt
Export-Import Bank of Korea sells $500 mn euro bonds with negative yield
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) has issued euro-currency bonds worth $500 million at a negative interest rate, the bank said on Sept. 15, less...
Sep 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airline industry
Asiana again placed under creditor control; resale unlikely by year-end
Creditors of Asiana Airlines Inc. have decided to place the financially troubled carrier under their control after officially declaring the collapse o...
Sep 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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LNG Project
Korean steelmakers to supply $100 mn worth of pipes for Canada’s largest LNG project
South Korean steelmakers POSCO and SeAH Steel Corp. will jointly supply 12,000 tons of stainless steel pipe for a liquefied natural gas project in Kit...
Sep 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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M&A
Bakery franchise Tous Les Jours draws Affirma Capital, chemical group as bidders
Bakery franchise Tous Les Jours, a division of CJ Foodville Corp., has drawn four preliminary bidders for its sale, including Singapore-based Affirma ...
Sep 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Grab Holdings
Singapore's ride-sharing giant Grab raises $200 mn from STIC Investments
Grab Holdings Inc., a Singapore-based technology company, has raised $200 million from South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments Inc., the fir...
Sep 11, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bond issue
Hyundai Card issues green bonds worth $379 mn to finance eco-friendly services
Hyundai Card Co. has issued green bonds worth 450 billion won ($379 million) to fund its green car financing services, the credit card company said on...
Sep 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Sovereign bond
South Korea sells $827 mn worth of euro-currency bonds with negative yield
The South Korean government has issued euro-denominated bonds worth 700 million euros ($827 million) at a negative interest rate, becoming the first n...
Sep 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
KB Financial's $186 mn VC fund invests $42 mn in Indian startups
KB Financial Group's global venture capital fund, which raised 220 billion won ($185.6 million) last year, has wrapped up its investment of about 50 b...
Sep 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
Mirae Asset named preferred negotiator for 3 Amazon-leased logistics centers in US
Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. has been named the preferred negotiator to acquire three logistics centers in the US leased to American retail gian...
Sep 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
IMM PE to sell Hollys Coffee to Korean chemical-to-steel group
Seoul-based IMM Private Equity is in the final stages of talks to sell South Korea’s Hollys Coffee to the country’s chemical- to steel-foc...
Sep 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read
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