private artists fan messenger app

Mergers & Acquisitions Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

Arts Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs

JAKARTA – Last Thursday, Baik Art gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia, was crowded with well-heeled art patrons eager to meet a revered artist from ...

Carbon neutrality SK Innovation E&S, JB Financial team up for renewable energy loans

JB Financial Group Co., the parent company of Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank, will join hands with SK Innovation E&S Co. and InnerGen Co. to roll...

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...

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

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...

Retail Baemin, Yogiyo see record transaction drops in Feb amid Coupang's rise

South Korea’s top and third-ranked food delivery apps, Baedal Minjok (Baemin) and Yogiyo, saw their biggest-ever monthly drops in transaction ...

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...

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 ...

Games Chinese games expand foothold in South Korea

Chinese games are making deep inroads into South Korea, increasing their presence in the mobile gaming market amid a lack of restrictions on foreign...

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 ...

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...

Alternative investments Korea Investment & Securities aims to be Asia's top securities firm

Korea Investment & Securities Co. will step up its asset management business by launching innovative global investment products, aiming to surpa...

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...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK-led consortium to take over Japan’s FICT for $656 mn

MBK Partners, the largest private equity firm in North Asia, will acquire a controlling stake in FICT Ltd., a semiconductor printed circuit board (P...

Korean chipmakers Magnachip, up for sale again, contacts Samsung, LG, LX

South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. is on the market again four years after the US blocked a takeover by a Chinese private equity f...

Retail Coupang Eats starts food delivery service in Japan

Coupang Eats, a food delivery app operated by South Korea's No. 1 e-commerce platform Coupang Inc., launched its first overseas service in Japan.Acc...

Deals IMM PE exits Woori Financial with double-digit return

IMM Private Equity has divested its remaining 1.38% stake in Woori Financial Group for 166.4 billion won ($115 million), exiting the South Korean fi...

Central bank BOK lowers growth forecasts to bolster rate cut expectations

South Korea’s central bank slashed its economic growth forecasts on Monday, adding to views that the monetary authority will cut interest rate...

Webtoons Piccoma tops consumer spending ranking in Japan

Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics app subsidiary of South Korean mobile giant Kakao Corp., topped the consumer spending ranking in the Japane...

Private debt Real estate debt outshines corporate credit: Savills IM

Private credit has been among the top picks for alternative investors over the past few years. During the period of high interest rates, corporate l...

Korean startups Korea's No. 1 fitness app Planfit eyes bigger market beyond home in 2025

A new year has arrived, and with it come the New Year’s resolutions. However, if you are one of those who feel you've already failed to keep y...

Mergers & Acquisitions Hahn & Co. buys SK Enpulse’s chip wafer polishing pad business

Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. has agreed to buy the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pads manufacturing division of SK Enpulse C...

Mergers & Acquisitions Hahn & Co. to buy controlling stake in SK’s specialty gas unit for $1.9 bn

South Korea’s private equity firm Hahn & Co. is set to acquire a controlling stake in the world’s top specialty gas producer SK Spec...

Korean startups Language learning app Speakeasy joins ranks of unicorn startups

Speakeasy Labs Inc., a South Korea-focused language learning app operator, has joined the ranks of unicorn startups after raising $78 million at a v...

Private equity Kamur PE sells cutting tool maker JJ Tools to Blackstone

Seoul-based Kamur Private Equity has signed a definitive agreement to sell a majority stake in South Korean industrial cutting tool manufacturer JJ ...

Asset management BlackRock names Lee Yoon Pyo as head of S.Korea business

BlackRock, the world's best-known asset manager, has appointed Lee Yoon Pyo as managing director and head of its South Korea operations, effective f...