The korea economic daily

[Exclusive] 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 billion...

PEFs

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 ($...

M&As

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 carmake...

M&As

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 fin...

Web platforms

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 mar...

Doosan 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 materi...

M&As

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 ma...

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 o...

[Exclusive] 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 target...

[Exclusive] Stake sales

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 ...

PEF exits

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 milli...

Overseas investments

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 technol...

Delivery apps

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 potent...

Global M&As

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 ...

Retailer purchases

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 e...

Music and 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, Ariana...

[Exclusive] 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 batte...

[Exclusive] 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 4...

Music and 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 ...

M&As

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 billion...

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 y...

Gene CMO

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 Fren...

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 stak...

M&As

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 se...

M&As

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 around...

M&As

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-bas...

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 ...

M&As

Lotte buys S.Korea’s top secondhand e-commerce platform

South Korea’s retail giant Lotte is expanding its presence in the e-commerce sector with the acquisition of Joonggonara, the country’s la...

Bio business

Lotte advances into bio business, to acquire stake in Enzychem

South Korea’s Lotte Group is entering the bio business for the first time in its history by acquiring a significant stake in Enzychem Lifescien...

M&As

Hahn & Co. to put Korean auto parts maker up for sale

South Korea's private equity firm Hahn & Co. is seeking to sell a majority stake in Hanon Systems, a Korean automotive supplier, which is expecte...