Affinity Equity Partners

Airlines Korea’s Sono to sell Air Premia stake to focus on another LCC

South Korea's top resort operator Sono Hospitality Group has decided to sell its entire stake in low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Premia Inc. at a profit ...

Business & Politics US tariffs add risk premium to dollar assets: Maurice Obstfeld

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US tariff increases are adding risk premiums to dollar-denominated assets, undermining the dollar’s role as a glo...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

Private equity EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa

EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...

Mergers & Acquisitions Hahn & Co. acquires SK Specialty for $1.8 billion

Hahn & Co., South Korea’s largest private equity firm, has finalized the acquisition of SK Specialty Co., the world’s leading produc...

Shareholder activism STIC Investments draws activist interest, including Align Partners

STIC Investments Inc., South Korea’s only listed private equity firm, has become the latest target of shareholder activism as Seoul-based Alig...

Mergers & Acquisitions KKR, Carlyle, Hillhouse race to buy Korean beauty device maker Classys

Global private equity giants such as KKR & Co., Carlyle Group and Hillhouse Capital Group Holdings are vying to acquire Classys Inc. as the Sout...

Real estate Warburg Pincus-Wide Creek Asset JV picks up 2nd Korean logistics asset

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC and South Korean real estate manager Wide Creek Asset Management Co. are building a logistics center for l...

Energy Alaska governor seeks Korean partners for $44 bn LNG project

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy arrived in South Korea on Monday to hold a series of one-on-one meetings with top executives from Korean energy and st...

Steel POSCO to sell entire stake in Nippon Steel, ending equity ties

POSCO Holdings Inc. has decided to sell its entire stake in Nippon Steel Corp., according to industry sources on Wednesday, marking the end of their...

Venture capital South Korean VCs back US humanoid robot developer Apptronik

South Korean venture capital firms invested undisclosed tens of billions of won, equivalent to tens of millions of dollars, in US humanoid-developin...

Bio & Pharma SillaJen: First to use lab-grown human tissue to find best cancer drug dose

South Korean biotechnology firm SillaJen Inc. is pioneering a new approach to determine the best dose for a cancer drug combination in clinical tria...

Banking & Finance Shinhan Bank partners with Hyundai Mobis for loan services to suppliers

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s top auto parts maker, has partnered with the country’s biggest lender Shinhan Bank to help its partners...

Mergers & Acquisitions Winia cancels acquisition deal with Seoul Private Equity

Winia Co., a South Korean home appliance manufacturer under court-led restructuring, has terminated its conditional acquisition agreement with Seoul...

Real estate BNK's planned acquisition of Hyundai Motor Securities building falters

BNK Asset Management Co.'s bid to acquire the Hyundai Motor Securities building in central Seoul has hit a stumbling block as the main tenant, Hyund...

Stocks China stock funds outperform US funds in South Korea

Chinese stocks are attracting South Korean investors looking beyond Wall Street amid the downturn in US Big Tech stocks.South Korea’s equity f...

Private equity South Korea emerges as private equity firms’ global hub

New York-based Apollo Global Management and London-based Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) have joined the ranks of global private equity firms that ...

Regulations MBK Partners under Korean tax agency scrutiny

MBK Partners, a leading North Asia-focused private equity firm, has come under a probe by South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) amid the br...

Private equity Affinity, GIC sell out of Kyobo Life; Chairman Shin seeks holding firm, M&A

Affinity Equity Partners and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC have sold their entire stake in Kyobo Life Insurance Co., exiting from thei...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK Partners poised to acquire CJ Cheiljedang’s $3.5 billion bio business

North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners is on the verge of clinching a major acquisition deal by offering a higher bid than other conten...

Private equity MBK-owned Homeplus files for corporate revamp with Seoul court

South Korea’s leading hypermarket operator Homeplus Co., wholly owned by North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners, on Tuesday filed...

Mergers & Acquisitions Affinity Equity set to close $1.1 bn purchase of Lotte Rental

Affinity Equity Partners said on Friday that it will sign a definitive agreement on March 11 with Lotte Group to acquire a 56.2% stake in South Kore...

Sovereign wealth funds S.Korea’s sovereign fund KIC logs 8.5% return in 2024

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) reported an annual return of 8.49% last year thanks to steady gains from equity investments led by the AI tec...

Alternative investments S.Korean investors name their 33 favorite alternative asset managers

Blackstone and HarbourVest Partners are South Korean institutional investors’ preferred private equity firms, according to a survey by Korea I...

Alternative investments KIC explores Europe middle-market private equity opportunities

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) on Monday explored investment opportunities in Europe’s middle-market private equity sector with other ...

Private equity Kyobo Life’s Shin in talks with Affinity, GIC over exits below purchase price

Kyobo Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s third-largest life insurer, is in talks with some of its financial investors (FIs) to help them exit f...

Stocks KKR recoups $206 mn in block sale of HD Hyundai Marine shares

Global private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. has succeeded in cashing out of its stake in HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co. for 295 billion won ($206 ...

Corporate governance Hyundai Motor taps ex-CPPIB private equity head Suyi Kim for board role

Hyundai Motor Co. has tapped Suyi Kim, former private equity head of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Benjamin Tan, an ex-portfo...

Mergers & Acquisitions Seoul Private Equity seeks to buy Winia under court receivership

Seoul Private Equity has signed a conditional agreement to buy Winia Co., a home appliance manufacturer under court receivership, through a stalking...

Machinery Korean tractor maker Daedong ends two-decade partnership with Deere

Daedong Corp., South Korea’s leading tractor and farm machinery maker, has ended its two-decade-long partnership with Deere & Co., the wor...