Kakao M
Scope
Date
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao Piccoma acquires Japan’s cryptocurrency exchange SEBC
Kakao Corp., South Korea’s top mobile messenger app operator, has acquired a controlling stake in Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a Japanese c...
Apr 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
SK Bioscience seeks multi-billion-dollar M&As, eyes gene therapy sector
SK Bioscience Co., the biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea’s SK Group, is seeking multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions to expand it...
Mar 31, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
Daewoo E&C jointly creates $400 mn fund for overseas M&As
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. of South Korea and IMM Investment Global, the Hong Kong-based affiliate of Korean equity firm IMM Investme...
Mar 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao hits snag in $815 mn SM Entertainment takeover plan
Kakao Entertainment Corp. has hit a snag in its talks to buy a controlling stake in SM Entertainment Co., according to those familiar with the neg...
Mar 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
Europe emerges as battleground for webtoon dominance
South Korea’s tech behemoths Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. are intensifying competition over who will dominate the global webtoon market. ...
Mar 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Acqui-hire practices increase in S.Korea’s startup ecosystem
Jobis & Villains, the operator of artificial intelligence-powered accounting platform 3.3, announced that it recently acquired video messenger s...
Mar 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Billionaire Kakao chairman Brian Kim resigns
Kakao Corp. founder and chairman Brian Kim said on Monday that he will step down from the tech giant’s board of directors, following a series ...
Mar 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Executive reshuffles
Billionaire Kakao chairman Brian Kim resigns
Kakao Corp. founder and chairman Brian Kim said on Monday that he will step down from the board of directors, following a series of scandals that ro...
Mar 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao closes in on $800 mn deal to buy SM Entertainment stake
Kakao Entertainment Corp., a unit of South Korea's top mobile messenger app, is in the final stages of talks to buy a controlling stake in SM Entert...
Mar 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Korean SPAC Valuence Merger debuts on Nasdaq, targets bio M&As
Valuence Merger Corp. 1, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), led by South Korean fund managers, has debuted on the Nasdaq, targeting Asian...
Mar 04, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Content platforms
Kakao to unveil YouTube-like manga platform in Japan
Kakao Corp., the No. 1 digital comics platform in Japan, will expand deeper into the neighboring country's comics market by launching a platform whe...
Mar 03, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shares in Nexon, two listed arms rise on M&A hopes
The unexpected death of Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju stoked market speculation about a possible change in its ownership structure and top management, s...
Mar 02, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
Kakao’s incoming CEO to launch two metaverse platforms
‘Beyond Korea’ is South Korean tech juggernaut Kakao Corp.’s new vision for the future. Kakao’s new CEO nominee Namkoon...
Feb 25, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
Hyundai Heavy’s holding firm changes name to HD Hyundai
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. is changing its name to HD Hyundai as the holding company of the world's largest shipbuild...
Feb 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Chief Executives
AI translation service Iyuno SDI chair expects continued surge in demand
“As demand for over-the-top (OTT) services grows, so will the bid for companies that provide translated subtitles in multiple languages,&rdq...
Feb 21, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
NCSoft's 2021 profit halves on labor, marketing costs
South Korea's NCSoft Corp., the publisher of the popular mobile game Lineage series, on Tuesday reported a worse-than-expected operating profit in 2...
Feb 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean stock market
Gaming stocks tumble after disappointing Q4 results
Shares in South Korean gaming companies have been on a losing run since the start of the year, giving up about half of the gains they enjoyed late l...
Feb 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Earnings
Kakao slips below Naver in Q4 revenue
South Korea’s tech giant Kakao Corp. reported 4Q revenue of 1.78 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in 2021, a 45% jump on-year. The figure is slight...
Feb 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
Kakao to launch webtoon service Piccoma in France
Kakao Corp. announced Sunday that it plans to launch the European version of its webtoon subscription service in either April or May of this year....
Feb 07, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
Korea's Toss targets SE Asia, Japan with super app
South Korea's mobile financial platform Toss is evolving from a payment service app into a full-fledged financial service provider, or a super app, ...
Feb 03, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Bain Capital seals 3rd beauty M&A deal in S.Korea
Bain Capital on Thursday agreed to buy a majority stake in South Korea's medical aesthetic device manufacturer Classys Inc. for 670 billion won ($56...
Jan 26, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fraud scandals
Kakao names new CEO to salvage reputation hurt by stock options scandal
Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, on Thursday announced a new chief executive nominee as the company ...
Jan 20, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Materials, parts makers drive Korea's 2021 M&A boom
Materials, components and equipment makers drove South Korea's mergers and acquisitions market to a record high last year, with smaller deals involv...
Jan 18, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Cryptocurrencies
WeMade under fire for massive clandestine WEMIX cryptocurrency sale
WeMade Co., a South Korean video game developer, has come under criticism for the massive unnoticed selling of its cryptocurrency WEMIX, allegedly i...
Jan 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leadership & Management
Kakao co-CEO nominee resigns after stock option exercise
Alex Young-joon Ryu, a nominee for new co-CEO of South Korea's top mobile messenger app Kakao Corp., on Monday offered to step down, after his dispo...
Jan 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Electronics
Samsung CEO: M&A deals in offing, to expand MicroLED TV facilities
LAS VEGAS – Samsung Electronics Co. is working on multiple M&A deals, which it could announce in the near future, as the company is seekin...
Jan 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial Intelligence
IGIS invests in Kakao Enterprise for AI-embedded real estate
IGIS Asset Management Co. and its venture capital affiliate are slated to invest 10 billion won ($8.3 million) in Kakao Enterprise Corp., an artific...
Jan 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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League table
NH, KB ranked top S.Korean equity, debt underwriters
Fundraising via initial public offerings and rights issues in South Korea more than doubled to 27.2 trillion won ($23 billion) in 2021 from a year a...
Dec 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
Kakao buys Asia fantasy fiction platform giant Wuxiaworld
South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment Corp. has bought the world’s top Asian fantasy web novel platform Wuxiaworld, based in the US, to expa...
Dec 16, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea Inc 2021: Year of record M&As, tie-ups and spin-offs
South Korea’s corporate sector has seen record deals through mergers and acquisitions, tie-ups and spin-offs this year, as big companies and s...
Dec 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
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