Deals

Future mobility
Hyundai Motor may buy Boston Dynamics to bolster robotics business
Hyundai Motor Co. may acquire Boston Dynamics Inc., a US-based robotics company, from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. in a deal worth as much as $1 billion, as the South Korean automaker increases investments in future mobility.The potential deal
Nov 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
-
IPOs
Elecfoil maker IMM Tech aims Korean listing
Iljin Materials Co., a South Korean battery materials maker, is planning to list its Malaysia-based subsidiary IMM Technology on South Korea’s b...
Nov 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Shipping & Shipbuilding
Hyundai seeks cut in $1.9 bn Daewoo Shipbuilding deal price
Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. is seeking to cut the 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) acquisition price for a majority stake in South Korean riv...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Healthcare
Korea's most-repurchased mask maker up for sale
Wellkeeps Co., a South Korean mask manufacturer, has issued an information memorandum to potential buyers including financial investors and strategic ...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Multiplex chains
Korean cinema chain foregoes IPO plans due to COVID-19
Megabox JoongAng Co., the third-largest cinema chain in South Korea, will forego plans to go public owing to the global coronavirus crisis that has de...
Nov 06, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
IPOs
Korea’s No. 1 chicken franchise raises $8.2bn in subscriptions
South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator Kyochon F&B pulled in a staggering $8.2 billion in deposits during its two-day public s...
Nov 04, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Korea's largest job portal JobKorea up for sale
South Korea-based private equity firm H&Q has begun the sale process for JobKorea, the country's largest job portal estimated to be worth up to $7...
Nov 04, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
Korean fried chicken brand draws over 1,000 investors in bookbuilding
Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator, wrapped up a successful bookbuilding for institutional investors with bid...
Nov 02, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Samyang joins bid to acquire US-based chemical maker Emerald Kalama
Samyang Holdings Corporation, a South Korean manufacturer of food and chemical products, has joined the bid to acquire US-based Emerald Kalama Chemica...
Nov 01, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Subordinated bond issues
Kookmin Bank sells $500 mn in subordinated bonds to fund ESG projects
South Korea’s Kookmin Bank has issued $500 million in subordinated bonds as part of its efforts to expand loans for environmental, social and go...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Virtual reality
Korean VR startup acquired by Fortnite creator
Hyprsense, a facial motion capture software developer, has been acquired by Epic Games, the creator of international blockbuster game Fortnite, accord...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
IPOs
Lotte Rental shelves share sale plan as IPO market cools
Lotte Group has indefinitely postponed its plan to list Lotte Rental Co., in the latest sign of a cooldown in the local initial public offering market...
Oct 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Pre-IPOs
IMM, four other local PEFs shortlisted for CJ Olive Young pre-IPO
IMM Private Equity and four other South Korean private equity firms have been shortlisted for health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young’s pre-i...
Oct 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Pre-IPOs
TPG to invest $222 mn in mobile banking app KakaoBank
TPG will acquire a 2.7% stake in South Korea’s mobile banking app KakaoBank for 250 billion won ($222 million) ahead of an initial public offeri...
Oct 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Bond issues
Kakao's exchangeable bond issue lures global investors
South Korea’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. is raising the price of shares to be converted from its exchangeable bond issue in Singapore on ...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Doosan Infracore
GS E&C challenges Hyundai Heavy in Doosan deal
GS Engineering & Construction Co. (GS E&C) has joined the bidding for a stake in Doosan Infracore Co. after the bid submission deadline, a mov...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
Hydrogen tank supplier to Hyundai prepares for 2021 IPO
Iljin Composites Corp., the only South Korean manufacturer of composite fuel tanks, is set to mandate Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. and Samsung Securities Co...
Oct 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
Firms vie to become Krafton's $883 mn IPO manager
A competitive lineup of securities firms gathered at game developer Krafton Inc.'s office building in Pangyo, Gyeonggi province on Oct. 21 to pitch fo...
Oct 21, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Leveraged buyout
Korean M&A industry may reconsider leveraged buyouts
South Korea’s M&A market may reconsider leveraged buyouts due to the Supreme Court’s remanding of the case involving Sun Jong-koo, the...
Oct 20, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Korean chipmakers
SK Hynix to buy Intel’s NAND business in $9 bn cash deal
SK Hynix Inc. has signed a 10.3 trillion won ($9 billion) all-cash deal to buy Intel Corp.’s NAND memory chip business that will propel the Sout...
Oct 20, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Mergers & Acquisitions
Coffee Bean Korea seeks 100% stake sell-off
South Korea’s popular coffee house Coffee Bean Korea Co. is seeking to sell a 100% stake in the company held by Chief Executive Officer Park San...
Oct 19, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Waste management
KKR buys $386 mn stake in Korean sewage disposal firm
KKR & Co. has purchased a combined 440.8 billion won ($386 million) worth of shares in TSK Corp., a leading South Korean sewage and wastewater tre...
Oct 19, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
IPOs
Korean IPOs lose steam as Big Hit shares plummet
Big Hit Entertainment Co., the South Korean entertainment agency behind global sensation BTS, saw its shares drop by as much as 22% on Oct.16, the sec...
Oct 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Pre-IPOs
Korea's beauty chain pre-IPO attracts PEFs
South Korea's largest health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young has received preliminary bids from around seven participants including global and dom...
Oct 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
Private equity exit
IMM PE seeks to exit Korean power cable maker
IMM Private Equity has put a majority stake in South Korea’s Taihan Electric Wire Co. up for sale to exit its investment of close to $300 mill...
Oct 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
BTS label Big Hit trims gains after strong debut
Big Hit Entertainment Co., the label behind K-pop boyband sensation BTS, nearly halved its initial gains by the close of its first day of trading Oct....
Oct 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
IPOs
BTS may be allowed to delay military service to age 30
South Korea is likely to allow the seven members of boy band BTS to postpone their mandatory national military service by two years until the age of 3...
Oct 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Mobile games
Korean mobile game developer buys out German rival
South Korean mobile game developer Com2uS Corp. has acquired a German gaming rival in its first cross-over buyout, in a move to bolster its sports gam...
Oct 12, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
M&As
CJ Logistics, NPS eye sell-off of Chinese logistics unit
South Korea’s leading logistics firm CJ Logistics Corp. and the National Pension Service have reached out to logistics companies and global priv...
Oct 08, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read -
M&As
CJ Logistics, NPS eyeing to sell Chinese logistics unit
South Korea’s leading logistics firm CJ Logistics Corp. and the National Pension Service have reached out to logistics companies and global priv...
Oct 08, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read
Latest News
- 1 NCSOFT invests in US game startup emptyvessel
- 2 Maybe Happy Ending: How a Seoul-made robot love story rewrote Broadway playbook
- 3 NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen
- 4 Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition
- 5 BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales amid imported vehicle market shake-up