fundraising

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...

Private equity Premier Partners, Praxis Capital lead 2024 Korea PE fundraising

Premier Partners and Praxis Capital are on track to raise 1 trillion won ($680 million) in their respective funds after the two South Korean private...

Logistics CJ Logistics, Baropharm to cooperate on pharmaceutical logistics

South Korea's CJ Logistics said on Monday it signed a strategic partnership and exclusive pharmaceutical logistics contract with Baropharm, an integ...

Artificial intelligence AI startup MarqVision raises $16.5 mn to close Series A round

MarqVision Inc., a startup developing an artificial intelligence-powered intellectual property (IP) protection platform, raised 22 billion won ($16....

Real estate Seoul prime office deals at 10-year low on rate uncertainty

Prime office transactions in Seoul hit a 10-year low in the second quarter due to delayed fundraising amid uncertainties of the central bank’s...

Private equity Korean PE funds shrink in 2023 for first time in 7 years

South Korean private equity investments declined last year for the first time since 2016 due to interest rate hikes, high inflation and the Korean w...

Private equity Korea's KDB widens gap in VC fundraising in H1; NPS to fund in July

The capital commitments of state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) have widened the gap for South Korean venture capital firms in fundraising over ...

Banking & Finance BNK Capital raises $41.5 mn in foreign currency

South Korea’s BNK Capital announced on Monday that it raised $41.5 million in foreign currency funds from overseas state-owned banks.This is...

Future mobility SK Innovation invests an extra $50 million in US clean energy firm Amogy

South Korea’s SK Innovation Co. has newly invested $50 million in Amogy Inc., a US ammonia-based power system developer, to expand its green b...

Bio & Pharma Lotte to invest more in US bio biz, spend $3 bn in Korea

SAN FRANCISCO -- South Korea’s Lotte Biologics Co. is considering investing more in the US bio industry and spending $3 billion in new factori...

Capital raising Nearly half of Korean firms plan no domestic investment next year

Rising gloom over the business environment due to a financial market crunch and weak Korean won has led to nearly half of Korea's firms having no pl...

Private equity Korean PE firms struggle with fundraising on illiquidity

South Korean private equity (PE) firms are having trouble fundraising as institutional investors' capital for new investment is drying up amid inter...

Batteries SK On may secure money for capex from parent company

SK On Co., the world’s fifth-largest electric battery maker, may receive money for capacity expansion from its parent company SK Innovation Co...

Bio & Pharma Korea’s Peak Bio makes Nasdaq debut via SPAC deal with Ignyte

Peak Bio Co., a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, is debuting on the Nasdaq through a merger with US blank cheque company Ignyte Acquisition C...

Batteries Battery maker SK On sweetens $1.4 bn fundraising deal

SK On Co., the world’s fifth-largest rechargeable battery maker, has sweetened its deal to attract 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in new share ...

Private equity Korea's small PE firms putting fundraising plans off to 2023

South Korea’s small and mid-sized private equity firms are increasingly postponing fundraising schedules for their project-based funds to the ...

Private equity Affirma’s bolt-on M&A strategy shines in S.Korea

Affirma Capital is a small player in South Korea’s private equity market, but its successful bolt-on strategy helps the mid-cap-focused invest...

Private equity Korean PE firms' 2021 funds bet on parts makers, dividend stock

IMM Investment Co. and STIC Investments Co., the two most active South Korean private equity firms in 2021 fundraising, made bets on a dividend-focu...

Korean startups Translink: Startup fundraising barely affected by economic downturn

Venture capital, or the business of investing in innovative private companies with growth potential, is a local endeavor most of the time.While this...

Aerospace & Defense Axiom Space invites Koreans to $500 million space hotel fundraising

Axiom Space Inc., which is developing the world’s first commercial space station, is seeking to raise $500 million from South Korean investors...

Private equity S.Korea’s PE fundraising may fall after two-year growth

The National Pension Service will reduce the amount of its new capital commitment to domestic private equity firms by 17% to 500 billion won ($400 m...

Pre-IPOs Kakao Entertainment’s fundraising plan hits roadblock

Kakao Entertainment Corp., a unit of South Korea’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp., is struggling to raise money as surging inflation and ri...

Bio & Pharma Korean bio ventures struggle with fundraising

Biopharmaceutical companies of South Korea are having a tough time fundraising of late. Bio ventures without specific public offering plans are pa...

Batteries SK On's $4 bn funding draws PE giants, GIC, Saudi PIF

BlackRock, Blackstone, Singapore's GIC and Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are among the preliminary bidders for shares worth up to $4.2 billio...

Metaverse Softbank joins $190 mn fundraising by Naver metaverse platform

Naver Corp.’s metaverse platform secured $190 million from Softbank and other investors to expand its business in a market marked by fierce co...

ASK 2021 KTCU seeks new GPs skilled in raising corporate value

Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) will seek out general partners (GPs) that have expertise in corporate workouts, add-on investments and a ...

Private equity Sweden's EQT staffs up in Asia with focus on Korea

EQT Partners, Europe's largest private equity firm, is staffing up its Asia Pacific team with a focus on South Korea, the investment firm said on Mo...

Mergers & Acquisitions KKR named as preferred buyer of SK E&S' $2 bn new shares

KKR & Co. has secured the exclusive negotiating rights to buy SK E&S Co.'s new preferred shares worth 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion), which t...

Airlines Korean LCCs rush to stock market for fund on travel recovery hopes

Cash-strapped South Korean budget airlines are rushing to raise money in the local stock market on growing hopes for a travel recovery as government...

Future mobility Affirma, EastBridge in race for T Map Mobility’s $267 mn fundraising

Global buyout fund Affirma Capital and South Korean private equity firm EastBridge Partners will compete in a race for the 300 billion won ($267 mil...