Korea M&A Corporation

Futata Co., a men's suit chain based on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, said it will accept Konaka Co.'s $93 million merger proposal, thwarting rival Aoki Holdings Inc.'s counter bid. ``We decided to refuse Aoki's merger proposal as we seek a merger with Konaka,'' Futata said in a statement released at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company said it chose Konaka, Futata's largest shareholder wi..

Fitch Ratings says Wednesday that increasing government-driven M&A activities in China's steel sector will prolong industry rationalisation and delay the targeted improvement in the overall competitiveness and efficiency of the sector. Although the agency notes that state-managed M&As provide more flexibility and cushion for domestic steel makers to reorganise themselves, Fitch has some doubts a..

The youngest son of Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing plans to fork out NT$24 billion (US$733 million) to secure a 60 percent stake in Taiwan's biggest cable TV operator China Network Systems Co, according to a media report.Showing his determination to branch out into Taiwan, Richard Li, chairman of Hong Kong's biggest phone operator PCCW Ltd, will visit Taiwan this week with plans to pay NT$4..

Aug. 18, 2006 (China Knowledge) – Wing Lung Bank Ltd., a Hong Kong-based bank, said Wednesday that it would welcome any potential merger or acquisition with “a very open mind”, opening up room for new speculations about whether or not the bank was in any talks with China Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) on a possible stake sale. Hong Kong paper The Standard quoted Chairman Patrick Wu Po-kong as say..

India's State-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and China's Sinopec jointly bought 50 percent stake in U. S. firm Omimex de Columbia, Indo-Asian News Service reported Sunday. The news agency quoted an anonymous official of OVL as saying that the three firms had exchanged papers for share transfer on Friday and OVL will have 25 percent stake while Sinopec has the rest 25 percent. The deal has implicate..

By Eadie Chen and Langi Chiang BEIJING (Reuters) - Business forays into China could become both easier and harder under Commerce Ministry rules covering foreign investment and takeovers published on Wednesday. The regulations give foreign buyers explicit authorization for the first time to pay for stakes in Chinese companies in shares instead of cash, but they also confer broad new powers to blo..

China 3C Group (OTC Bulletin Board: CHCG), the parent company of Zhejiang Yong Xin Digital Technology Co., Ltd. today announced that has completed its acquisition of Hangzhou Sanhe Electric Technology Ltd., a rapidly growing home electronics retail chain. As previously announced, China 3C is acquiring 100% of Hangzhou Sanhe in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $8.75 million. C..

By becoming the second-largest shareholder of Toppan CFI (Taiwan), a color filter (CF) maker and Taiwan-based subsidiary of Japan-based Toppan Printing, AU Optronics (AUO) will secure the fifth-generation (5G) CFs needed by itself and Quanta Display (QDI), which will soon be merged into AUO, according to HB Chen, president, COO and spokesperson of AUO. Since QDI’s current in-house CF supply is n..

Aug. 9, 2006 (China Knowledge) – Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., a mining conglomerate in China engaged primarily in the production of gold, yesterday announced that it expects to confirm an overseas acquisition by next month, according to an AFX report. Speaking to reporters at a media briefing to discuss the group’s recently-released first half results, Chairman Chen Jinghe said that the company ..

Leasing firm Orix Corp. said Tuesday it has purchased a 73.9 percent stake in QB Net Co., which runs the barbershop chain QB House, and sent two directors to the QB Net board.Orix said it will cooperate with QB Net's management and employees to increase its corporate value with a view to making an initial public offering of its shares in the future.QB Net, founded in 1995, has rapidly expanded t..

TWO leading Chinese steelmakers plan to form a new company that could become the second-biggest domestic mill by output, in the latest example of consolidation in the fragmented steel industry. Jinan Iron & Steel Group and Laiwu Iron & Steel Group, both in Shandong Province, have agreed to pool assets to create Shandong Iron & Steel Group, Jinan's listed unit said in a filing yesterday. The rest..

HUANG Guangyu, the Chinese mainland's richest individual and owner of Gome Appliance, is eying a merger with rival Suning Appliance Co after acquiring China Paradise last week. But Suning, the second-biggest home appliance chain in China, yesterday responded coldly to Huang's offer, saying it will not accept such a proposal as it is in a strong position and expanding rapidly. "Suning is a listed..

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it expects 2006 to be a record year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in China. The ratings agency said in a statement that it expects to see larger M&A actions by Chinese companies this year in both the overseas and domestic markets as they attempt to diversify their skills by entering overseas markets or consolidate their d..

Oji Paper Co., the nation's leading paper producer, said Sunday it aims to make Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary through a takeover bid beginning in mid-August.Major Japanese companies rarely make hostile takeover bids against domestic competitors.Analysts said the planned management integration could sharpen Oji Paper's edge against Nippon Paper Group Inc., Japan's second-lar..

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Softbank Corp. plans to borrow 1.4 trillion yen ($12 billion) in Japan's biggest asset-backed loan to refinance debt used to acquire the local mobile-phone unit of Vodafone Group Plc, people involved in the transaction said. Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are leading negotiations to replace a 1.28 trillion yen one- year loan with longer-te..

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Resona Holdings Inc. (8308.TO) said Thursday its group companies have agreed to sell approximately 12% of their stake in outstanding shares of unlisted credit card company JCB Co. to Orix Corp. (8591.TO) and the Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604.TO) group. A Resona Holdings spokesman declined to disclose the value of the sale of the 12% stake. After the sale, the Resona group wil..

Dow Chemical Co yesterday completed its acquisition of a leading Chinese water-treatment company to further strengthen its portfolio in the sector. The purchase of Zhejiang Omex Environmental Engineering Co, based in Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, is believed to be the first privately run firm to be acquired by Dow in the Chinese market. Terms of the deal were not revealed as the sum fell below US..

CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd, a unit of state investment arm China International Trust & Investment Corp, has bought 51 percent of an Indonesian oil field for US$97 million. The energy and base metals producer purchased a stake in the Seram Non-Bula block from KUFPEC, a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, gaining access to an oilfield with 39 million barrels of gross oil reserves, Bloomberg New..

Wired News and Wired magazine are together again after an eight-year separation. Conde Nast Publications, the corporate owner of seminal San Francisco tech magazine Wired, paid $25 million to acquire the online property Wired News from its parent, Lycos of Waltham, Mass., Lycos said Tuesday. The two entities, which are already housed in the same building on Third Street near San Francisco's Sout..

On July 5, when the Bank of China (BOC) launched its initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the market reacted warmly and pushed its stock prices high above its original price. BOC's listing on the A-share market has a significance that cannot be overstated. The listing, coming soon after the government lifted its year-long ban on IPOs in May, is valuable both to the devel..

A special purpose company set up to carry out a management buyout of Skylark Co. has successfully completed a tender offer, moving the restaurant chain toward delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Skylark said Tuesday.Through the one-month tender offer that ended Monday, the special purpose firm, SNC Investment Co., acquired some 102.6 million shares, or 94.38 percent, of Skylark's outstandin..

Welspun has acquired 85% of Christy, a leading towel brand in UK, which will provide Welspun a foothold in UK's premium home textile market and access to other premium retailers in USA and Europe. The acquisition will entail an initial cash flow of Rs 1000 mn, which will be funded 60% through debt and balance through internal accruals. We believe this acquisition is one of the few slated brand a..

Paul Maidment, 07.03.06, 4:00 PM ETSource from http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2006/07/03/china-mobile-millicom-cx_pm_0703notn.html News that China Mobile's attempt to buy Nasdaq-listed Millicom International Cellular has collapsed is another setback for the "two steps forward, one step back" venture by Beijing into the world of global mergers and acquisitions.Luxembourg-based Millicom, whic..

Recently KTB network which is the biggest venture capital in Korea (below 'KTBn') faces the possibility of hostile M&A. Mirae&Saram, major share holder of KTBn disclosed the plan to sell shares of KTBn. If Mirae&Saram would sell it, the portions of Mr. Kwon who is owner of KTBn is only about 5%. KTBn already exposured in hostile M&A of DongWon security before and defeated it. So KTBn has a lot o..

SEOUL (AFX) - Kumho Asiana Group has been selected as the preferred bidder to buy a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd, key creditors led by the Korea Asset Management Corp (KAMCO) said. Prime Group has been named as the reserve bidder, KAMCO said. Three other firms - Eugene Group, Doosan Corp and Samwhan Corp - had also submitted bids.

SK Telecom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with China’s second largest mobile operator China Unicom that will entitle the Korean company to exclusive partnership for 18 months. Korea’s largest mobile operator said Wednesday it signed a contract with CU to purchase convertible bonds worth US$1 billion (W962 billion) to cooperate in the CDMA business and “recognize mutually exclusive ..

June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. acquired Australia's biggest garbage collector and a mining services company from Brambles Industries Ltd. for A$1.83 billion ($1.3 billion), its biggest purchase in the Asia Pacific region. The two businesses had combined sales of A$863 million in the year ended June 2005, Melbourne-based Brambles said in a statement today. The Cleanaway oper..

The Murakami fund is expected to sell all of its shares in Hanshin Electric Railway Co., making it certain that Hankyu Holdings Inc. will successfully conclude its tender offer for the railway operator, according to sources.The Murakami fund, which holds some 47 percent of outstanding Hanshin shares, will likely decide to sell the stake Monday, the last day of the tender offer, the sources said ..

Nokia of Finland and Siemens of Germany are expected to announce today that they will merge their telecommunication network equipment businesses in a deal valued at more than $30 billion, people involved in the transaction said Sunday night.The merger is likely to set off a new global wave of consolidation and a round of price wars as the telecommunications industry remakes itself after the past..

By Anna Fifield in SeoulBy Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: June 18 2006 19:05 | Last updated: June 18 2006 19:05Carl Icahn’s shareholder activist team is preparing to step up the pressure in its battle with KT&G.It is considering another proxy battle or even taking legal action over its claimed difficulties in obtaining financial documents from the South Korean tobacco and ginseng group.Adverti..