buyout firm

Corporate strategy Hankook & Company to set up CVC with $11 mn in funding

Hankook & Company Co., the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., announced Thursday a plan to launch a wholly owned corporate ve...

Debt financing Korea Securities Finance eyes its 1st foreign bond sale in 2026

Korea Securities Finance Corp. (KSF) is preparing to issue its first foreign currency-denominated bonds in 2026 to provide low-cost funding to domes...

Pension funds S.Korea’s GEPS to commit $143 million to foreign mid-cap buyout funds

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), one of South Korea’s top three public pension programs, will commit up to 200 billion won ($1...

Beauty & Cosmetics Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung steps up AR race with advanced microdisplay for smart glasses

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a major push into next-generation microdisplays for augmented reality (AR) glasses as it aims to position itsel...

Pension funds NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has yet to decide on a plan to select local extern...

Business & Politics Seoul mulls joint review of Alaska LNG project with Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam

South Korea has proposed forming a consortium with Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam to jointly assess the feasibility of investing in the $45 billion Alask...

Earnings S.Korea’s top 4 financial holding firms cheer upbeat Q1 results

South Korea’s top four financial holding companies – Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori – reported stellar earnings for the first quarter...

Mergers & Acquisitions DB Insurance becomes Daol Investment’s No.2 shareholder

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, has become Daol Investment & Securities Co.'s second-largest shareholder af...

Batteries Samsung SDI, Hanwha Ocean to usher in battery-driven submarine era

Hanwha Ocean Co. and Samsung SDI Co. will start evaluating their jointly developed lithium-ion battery system for a submarine with South Korea&rsquo...

Shareholder activism US PE firm Miri Capital ups stake in Korea’s STIC Investments

US private equity firm Miri Capital Management LLC said on Tuesday it has raised its stake in STIC Investments Inc. to step up its shareholder activ...

Electronics Samsung expands automotive MLCC supply to BYD, other Chinese firms

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. is supplying several million dollars' worth of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) to BYD Co. and Chinese automotive...

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...

Robotics Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics’ Spot embarks on public safety missions

Spot, a quadruped robot developed by Boston Dynamics Inc., will aid defense and safety agencies in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia to assist in...

Entertainment Kakao Entertainment sheds loss-making units, revives IPO prospects

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms, which it has gobbled up over the past few year...

Bio & Pharma ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...

Beauty & Cosmetics K-beauty exports to China rebound after 4-month slump

South Korea’s beauty industry is showing signs of recovery in China, with exports rebounding after four months of decline.The turnaround follo...

Alternative investments Korean financial firms face growing risks in overseas property investments

South Korea’s financial institutions are increasingly at risk of their overseas real estate investments turning sour, government data showed o...

Real estate Asia Property to buy WeWork building in Seoul

Seoul-based real estate investment firm Asia Property has been picked as the sole preferred bidder for an office building currently occupied by cowo...

League table UBS tops Korea’s buyout deal advisory in Q1 thanks to Lotte

UBS Group AG, the frontrunner in South Korea's M&A market last year, retained the top position in the country's buyout advisory market in the fi...

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...

Leadership & Management Hanwha gears up for 3rd-generation leadership with chairman’s stake gift

South Korea’s chemical-to-defense conglomerate Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn will hand over half of his holdings in the conglomerate&rs...

Mergers & Acquisitions VIG taps KDB financing to buy 40% stake in Kakao Mobility

South Korea’s private equity firm VIG Partners’ buyout of minority stakes in Kakao Mobility Corp., the nation’s most popular taxi-...

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...

Business & Politics US Chamber of Commerce sees Korea’s business penalties as trade barrier

The US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest lobbying group, told Washington that South Korea’s penalties on businesspeople are amo...

Real estate Shinhan REITs picked as sole bidder for BNK Digital Tower

Shinhan REITs Management is expected to acquire BNK Digital Tower, an office building in the affluent neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, aft...

Mergers & Acquisitions Daol PE buys Youngil Glass to ride Korean cosmetics boom

Daol Private Equity has acquired Youngil Glass Industry Co., a South Korean manufacturer of glass containers, in a 65 billion won ($44.5 million) de...

Shareholder value Celltrion to cancel $140 mn in treasury shares, stock up

South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc. announced on Friday a plan to cancel $140 million worth of treasury shares to i...

Pension funds NPS to mull responsible investment system for alternative investments

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, is poised to consider expanding its responsible in...

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 ...