Korea M&A Corporation

Woori Financial Group plans to re-nter the brokerage industry by acquiring the digital brokerage firm Korea Foss Securities and merging it with its existing investment banking subsidiary, Woori Investment Bank.This merger, scheduled for completion in the third quarter, marks Woori's return to stock trading after a decade. The combined entity will aim to position itself among the top ten brokerag..

A majority stake in Lotte Insurance, South Korea's seventh biggest non-life insurer, has been placed for sale for over KRW2tn ($1.45bn).Local private equity firm JKL Partners is disposing of its stake of 77% in the insurer. JKL bought a 53% stake in Lotte Insurance for KRW373.4bn in 2019 and increased its ownership to 77% through the insurer’s rights offering in October of the same year. The tot..

South Korean mid-sized automaker Edison Motors’ proposed acquisition of SsangYong Motor has been cancelled due to payment failure, putting the debt-laden SUV maker’s journey to search for new owner back to starting line. According to SsangYong Motor on Monday, its acquisition contract with a consortium led by Edison Motors was terminated after the buyer failed to pay 274.3 billion won ($223.7 mi..

SEOUL -- Freasheasy has acquired a chicken-based simple meal package maker and a cold chain logistics service operator to solidify its position in South Korea's rapidly growing market for meal kits, also known as home meal replacement products, which are ready-to-eat meal packages that require minimum cooking processes. Freasheasy signed a mergers and acquisition (M&A) A cold chain is a logistic..

Edison Motors, South Korea’s leading EV bus maker, and the bankrupt SsangYong Motor are likely to seal their merger and acquisition deal this week. Legal circles and automobile industry insiders expect the M&A to take place by this week or by Jan. 7 the latest. “We need to adjust the contents of the contract, but if the discussion goes well, it can be done within this month. If the adjustment is..

Hyundai LNG Shipping Co. expects to draw new capital of 100 billion won ($84.2 million) from a local private equity firm, adding appeal to the planned sale of South Korea’s largest LNG carrier. According to multiple sources from the investment bank industry on Sunday, Daishin Private Equity is in talks with Hyundai LNG Shipping’s biggest shareholder IMM Private Equity to invest 100 billion won i..

Lotte Group is considering offloading its stalled theme-park project in northeastern China for at least 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), according to people familiar with the matter. South Korea’s largest operator of hotels, theme parks and duty-free stores is working with an adviser to gauge interest from potential investors, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private...

MBK Partners, the nation's largest private equity fund operator, is seeking to take over online shopping mall platform Korea Center and e-commerce platform Danawa. The private equity company intends to become the largest shareholder of Korea Center, which in turn will acquire Danawa with investment funds from MBK Partners. The deal will be made only when Korea Center succeeds in acquiring Danawa..

Endeavor has struck a deal to sell a majority stake in its Endeavor Content studio to South Korean media giant CJ ENM, the company behind films like Parasite and Snowpiercer, for $775 million. The deal values the company at $850 million. Endeavor will retain a 20 percent stake in Endeavor Content and is also holding on to its non-scripted and film sales divisions. (The Wall Street Journal first ..

South Korean gaming firm Krafton has inked a deal to acquire 100 percent ownership of US video game developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment for $750 million, in the first takeover deal it has announced since the company went public in August, a filing showed Sunday. According to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service, Krafton, a Tencent Holdings-backed company behind the batt..

Yanolja Co., a leading South Korean travel platform operator, said Thursday that it signed an agreement to buy a 70 percent stake in e-commerce businesses of Interpark Corp. for 294 billion won (US$248 million). Yanolja said its move to acquire Interpark‘s travel, performing arts, shopping and book businesses is intended to make inroads into the global travel market dominated by foreign platform..

South Korea's SK Innovation Co Ltd (096770.KS) plans to invest 5.1 trillion won ($4.32 billion) to build battery production facilities in the United States through its battery joint venture with Ford Motor Co (F.N) through 2027, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The South Korean battery maker, which supplies electric car batteries to Ford Motor and Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS),..

Kraton Corporation entered into a merger agreement under which DL Chemical will acquire 100% of Kraton in an all-cash deal, implying an enterprise value of $2.5bn, the company said on Monday. Per the agreement, Kraton stockholders will receive $46.50 in cash for each share of Kraton common stock they own. The deal represents a premium of 50% over Kraton’s unaffected market valuation as of early ..

Korea’s antitrust agency may tighten scrutiny of small-company acquisitions following accusations that major digital players like Kakao have grown too fast and have used the purchase of start-ups to grow under the radar. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) may soon take into account user bases, transaction sizes and revenues when determining whether a review is necessary. At present, a deal is subje..

Local PEF's inexperience with huge M&A deals is partially blamed By Anna J. Park Local private equity firm (PEF) Centroid's acquisition of global golf brand TaylorMade has hit another stumbling block, this time over a domestic licensing deal.The PEF has partnered with Korea's mid-sized fashion company F&F Holdings, along with other financial investors, and they completed full payment for the buy..

https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/202108/9a39a39261514579b8e5bcf5f40eb178.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize Top conglomerates keeping eye on Korea's No. 2 foundry chipmaker As semiconductors, electric vehicle (EV) batteries and displays are classified as national strategic industries, many governments are actively investing in these high-technology industries.Among the core strategic ..

The sale of Namyang Dairy Products Company has fallen through, according to a statement from the firm’s chairperson. Chairman Hong Won-sik said Wednesday that he informed private equity firm Hahn & Company that his company was scrapping a contract they had clinched on the sale of the dairy giant. The statement comes three months after Hong and his family signed a contract agreeing to sell their ..

Kim & Chang in awkward position The months-long dispute over a 53.08 percent stake Namyang Dairy Chairman Hong Won-sik sought to sell for 310.7 billion won ($265 million) to local private equity fund (PEF) Hahn & Co. is expected to morph into a protracted legal battle, as the PEF hired Yoon & Yang, a law firm specializing in finance and tax litigation, Wednesday.Some market watchers say the priv..

A South Korean investor consortium led by Gwangju-based construction conglomerate Jungheung Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate talks surrounding the acquisition of a 50.75 percent stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction, a filing showed Monday. Following the nonbinding agreement, the investor group -- comprising Jungheung Group and investment bank Mirae Asset Securitie..

As the GS consortium is certain to acquire Korea's botulinum toxin (BTX) developer, Hugel, industry watchers are paying keen attention to how the acquisition would change the company and the domestic BTX and bio markets. The four-party private equity fund formed by the GS Group, also participated in by IMM Investment, China's CBC Group, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mubadala Investment Comp..

SK hynix is buying Intel’s NAND memory and storage business for $9 billion, one of the largest acquisitions in Korean corporate history. The deal announced on Tuesday will make the Korean chipmaker the second largest NAND flash maker in the world and accelerate Intel’s retreat from the memory chip business. The board of SK hynix approved the deal on Tuesday and announced it on an electronic disc..

GS Engineering & Construction (E&C) and Hyundai Heavy Industries are eyeing taking a major stake in Doosan Infraore which is being put up for sale as part of Doosan Group's business normalization. "GS E&C and Hyundai Heavy Industries are included on the shortlist to possibly purchase a major stake. Given their core strengths, it makes sense for either of the firms to participate in the upcoming ..

Sovereign wealth fund urged to cooperate with Korean firms By Park Jae-hyuk The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) seeks to increase the size of assets under its management to $400 billion by 2035 from the current $150 billion, according to the head of the nation's sovereign wealth fund, Wednesday. "We've achieved significant growth as the size of assets under our management rose to over $150 bi..

After months of negotiations and trading barbs, Jeju Air finalized its decision on July 23 to scrap its plans to purchase Eastar Jet -- a decision that may have been inevitable for Jeju amid uncertainties, but was detrimental to some 1,500 budget airline employees who may now lose their jobs. “Despite the government’s willingness to support and mediation efforts, the level of uncertainty facing ..

JP Morgan Chase topped South Korea’s merger and acquisition (M&A) league table from January to June this year after leading several mega deals in the subdued M&A market under COVID-19 influence. The Korean unit of the New York-based investment bank topped the list of the M&A league table by closing 3.37 trillion won ($2.8 billion) worth deals in Korea in the first half, according to data release..

Korea Equity Fund Inc. (NYSE:KEF) major shareholder Bulldog Investors, Llc purchased 25,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.70 per share, for a total transaction of $221,850.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that o..

New Purchases: STLR , SOR , AHPA , GLO, AWP, ISL, CH, LOR, ABE, IF,Added Positions:KEF, NYRT, SWZ, DEX, USA, PCF, GLQ, FFA, PHF, DDF,Reduced Positions:NRO, LCM, WHLR, STC, HIL, FAM, CIK, RVT, TGLS, CET,Sold Out:STLRU, EMGC, AHPAU, MSF, COTY, QPAC, FTF, MFIN,For the details of Bulldog Investors, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Bulldog+Investors%2C+..

Shrugging off concerns for the high bidding price, investors cheered the news that South Korea’s social casino gaming publisher DoubleUGames Co. decided to acquire U.S. social casino subsidiary of International Game Technology PLC (IGT), global leader in gaming systems technology, on expectations for synergy between the two firms. Shares of DoubleUGames listed on the Korea’s tech-savvy Kosdaq ma..

Mirae Asset Securities Co., South Korea’s leading asset management firm, has signed an agreement with the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) on Monday to acquire a 43 percent stake in KDB Daewoo Securities Co. The securities firm plans to complete the 2.38 trillion won ($1.98 billion) deal in early April after conducting due diligence for two weeks and receiving approval on the change in maj..

Korea's major toymaker Young Toys, known for its hit product Tobot, will likely be sold to a Hong Kong-based private equity fund, sources said Friday. They said the Pacific Alliance Group (PAG) has been selected as a preferred bidder for the acquisition and it will soon start proceedings with the Seoul-based company. The PAG's bidding price is unknown, but market observers estimate it at 250 bil..