Korean VC firms lose appetite for investment in startups amid dearth of IPOs, M&As for exit

South Korea’s startup community is facing its sharpest funding squeeze in over a decade, as venture capital (VC) firms retreat from new invest...

Next-wave K-Beauty brands chart growth without outside capital

K-Beauty’s rising stars are steering clear of outside capital, opting instead for self-financed growth supported by solid cash reserves, data-...

Capital flows to ETFs reshape S.Korea’s asset management landscape

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are drawing a growing number of South Korean individual investors seeking a broader exposure to equities, accounting fo...

Fabless chip unicorn FuriosaAI raises $120 mn in new funding

South Korea’s AI chip designer FuriosaAI Inc. said on Thursday it has raised 170 billion won ($120 million) in bridge funding from about 40 in...

SK Innovation to merge SK On with SK Enmove to boost financial health

SK Innovation Co., an intermediary holding company of South Korea's No. 2 business group, said on Wednesday it will merge SK On Co. with SK Enmove C...

Bain Capital set to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials' tire cord business

US private investment firm Bain Capital is poised to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp.'s tire steel cord business in a deal estimated...

Shinsegae, Hana Financial, Bain Capital to finance $438 mn Starfield Cheongna

Shinsegae Property, a subsidiary of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group, on Tuesday unveiled a 600 billion won ($438 million) investment agree...

Korea Investment & Securities, Capital Group eye product launch in Korea

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., is exploring new offshore funds for individual investors in co...

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH Investment & Securities Co. retained its lead in South Korea’s equity capital market (ECM) in the first half, riding a surge in large-s...

Calls grow for stronger LP oversight in national strategic asset M&As

MBK Partners’ takeover attempt of Korea Zinc Inc. has exposed the vulnerability of national strategic assets to private equity ownership, posi...

Affirma Capital to acquire Equis’ Korean waste assets for $294 million

Affirma Capital, a Singapore-headquartered buyout private equity firm, has agreed to acquire the entire portfolio of South Korean waste processing a...

Miri Capital closes in on STIC Investments chairman’s stake

Miri Capital Management LLC has steadily raised its stake in STIC Investments Inc., narrowing the ownership gap with the firm’s founder and Ch...

Seoul, once-rising art hub, feels pinch of global strains  

In Seoul’s Hannam district, the storefront that once housed Various Small Fires (VSF) now sits empty, a “For Rent” sign taped to i...

South Korea’s startup M&A winter deepens capital bottleneck  

South Korea’s startup M&A winter has deepened as once major investors like conglomerates are prioritizing restructuring over expansion, ch...

NPS, KIC step up focus on mid-market infrastructure

The National Pension Service (NPS) and Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) are actively exploring mid-market infrastructure opportunities as they are expec...

Korean financial firms launch global IR blitz to woo foreign capital  

Chiefs of South Korea’s major financial groups – Shinhan, Woori and iM – are ramping up global investor outreach with new sharehol...

Bain Capital sells 6% stake in Korea’s Classys via block deal for $163 million

Bain Capital LP has offloaded a 6% stake in South Korean medical aesthetics company Classys Inc. through a block trade, raising 228 billion won ($16...

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...

Korea not to appeal ruling in favor of Mason Capital in Samsung case

South Korea said on Friday it has decided not to appeal a Singaporean court’s rejection of its lawsuit to annul an investor-state dispute sett...

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...

Hanwha Aerospace slashes planned rights offering size to $1.6 billion

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a leading South Korean defense company, said on Tuesday it plans to slash the size of its proposed rights offering to 2.3 tril...

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...

CPPIB invests in Seoul office building for rental housing conversion

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and South Korean property developer MGRV have jointly acquired the headquarters of a domestic women...

SillaJen: First to use lab-grown human tissue to find best cancer drug dose

South Korean biotechnology firm SillaJen Inc. is pioneering a new approach to determine the best dose for a cancer drug combination in clinical tria...

Hanwha wins $1.6 billion order to build 6 container ships for Evergreen

Hanwha Ocean Co., a leading South Korean shipbuilder, said on Monday it has won a 2.33 trillion won ($1.61 billion) order to build six eco-friendly,...

CHA Biotech seeks to resume healthcare unit IPO after affiliates’ merger

CHA Biotech Co., South Korea’s leading stem cell therapeutics developer, plans to resume an initial public offering of CHA Healthcare Co., a m...

Beauty giant CJ Olive Young to buy Seoul office building for $472 mn

CJ Olive Young Corp., South Korea’s top beauty store chain, has been given priority rights to buy an office building in Seoul for about 680 bi...

Bain Capital acquires control of Mohegan's Korean resort

Private equity firm Bain Capital has acquired control of Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort on Yeongjong Island, the largest integrated resort in ...

GIC at forefront of $413-mn deal to buy hotels from South Korea’s DL Group

Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. has been given priority rights to buy three hotels valued at more than 600 billion won ($413 million) toget...

HD Hyundai in talks to buy back Korean ship parts maker

HD Hyundai Co., the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, is in talks with a private equity firm to buy back a South Korean ship parts manufactu...