Morgan Stanley tops S.Korea's H1 M&A league table

Morgan Stanley topped South Korea's M&A advisor league table in the first half of this year, working on six buyout deals worth a combined 9.75 trillion won ($8.6 billion), including the sale of eBay Korea.

The US investment bank has become a key beneficiary of the country's red-hot M&A market, which saw record deals in volume and value during the first six months to June, with big conglomerates and startups on the hunt for new growth drivers both at home and abroad.

Morgan Stanley handled almost all high-profile deals involving South Korean strategic buyers in terms of deals completed in the first six months of the year, according to data compiled by Market Insight and the FnGuide, a market tracker, on June 29.

On the sell side, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs managed the sale of eBay Korea, in which the country's retail giant Shinsegae Group acquired an 80% stake for 3.44 trillion won. The valuation means the full ownership topped 4 trillion won, close to the asking price, despite the limited pool of bidders which had narrowed to Shinsegae and Lotte Group. 

Another landmark deal managed by Morgan Stanley was the $1.7 billion sale of US sports equipment manufacturing firm TaylorMade Golf Co. to South Korea's lesser-known private equity firm. The investment bank worked for the seller of New York-based KPS Capital Partners.

In the second half, Morgan Stanley is expected to strengthen its top position in the country's M&A advisory market. It is handling Delivery Hero SE's divestment from South Korea's No. 2 food delivery app Yogiyo, as well as the sale of Korean auto parts supplier Hanon System Corp.

In the first quarter of this year, the investment bank reclaimed its top position in the country's M&A league table for the first time in two years, after working on the $1.73 billion sale of Hyperconnect to the US-based Match Group.

JPMORGAN

JPMorgan ranked second in the league table. It advised HYBE Co. for the $1 billion acquisition of Ithaca Holdings, a US entertainment agency and worked for Macquarie Korea Asset Management Co. to sell Keullenko, a domestic waste management company, to a SK Group unit for 262.3 billion won.

For the eBay Korea deal, JPMorgan acted as the buy-side advisor for Shinsegae.

Third-ranked Goldman Sachs also was involved in the sale of eBay Korea, while managing two key domestic transactions, including Seoul-based Glenwood Private Equity's sale of two city gas suppliers -- Seorabeol City Gas Co. and Haeyang Energy Co. -- to Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund.

Write to Ji-hye Min and Jun-ho Cha at spop@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.