IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive

IMM Private Equity and five other South Korean private equity firms are set to invest a total of 800 billion won ($600 million) in Goodai Global Inc...

LG launches ChatExaone AI beta service, available soon for enterprise use

South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group has made its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatExaone, available to external users, sign...

Test case looms for Korea’s revised Commercial Act as VIP Asset challenges Lotte Rental’s rights issue to Affinity

Lotte Rental Co., South Korea’s No. 1 car rental and leasing company, is facing a backlash from a key minority shareholder over its planned ri...

LG links up with Chinese rivals for budget appliance supremacy

LG Electronics Inc. has turned its rivals into allies in an unlikely pact to win the budget appliance war and ward off Chinese competitors rapidly e...

Hyundai Glovis charts new waters with world’s first AI-driven self-sailing car carrier fleet

South Korea’s Hyundai Glovis Co. is poised to become the world’s first shipping company to deploy artificial intelligence-based autonomo...

India’s love for K-ice cream spurs Lotte to boost expansion

South Korean confectionery giant Lotte Wellfood Co. is targeting 15% sales growth in India this year, following the completion of a merger betw...

DB Insurance in talks to buy US auto insurer Fortegra in $1.5 billion deal

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, is in advanced talks to acquire US-based insurer Fortegra in a deal that could ...

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. has become the first South Korean insurance firm to advance into the overseas banking sector by securing a controlling sta...

JKL Partners to acquire $150 mn cult-favorite bagel chain London Bagel

JKL Partners Inc., a Seoul-based private equity firm, is set to acquire London Bagel Museum, a growing sensation in South Korea’s booming prem...

S.Korea’s leading ERP player Douzone Bizon up for sale; EQT, others in talks

Douzone Bizon Co., South Korea’s leading homegrown enterprise software firm and the country’s No. 2 player in the enterprise resource pl...

Loss-making Lotte Chemical to sell water treatment unit to Synopex

Lotte Chemical Corp., South Korea’s second-largest petrochemical company grappling with mounting losses amid a prolonged industry downturn, wi...

Growth equity portfolio largely shielded from policy headwinds: Summit

Growth equity investments have remained largely stable in the face of recent policy shifts, with key sectors like technology and healthcare avoiding...

Lotte Biologics signs antibody drug CMO deal with UK’s Ottimo Pharma

BOSTON – Lotte Biologics Co. has signed a deal to manufacture an antibody therapy for British biotech startup Ottimo Pharma as the South Korea...

JLL, Savills to lead Seoul Square sale in $1 bn deal

JLL and Savills have been tapped to lead the sale of Seoul Square, a landmark office tower, valued at around 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion), adding t...

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Infrastructure secondaries are gaining momentum as the infrastructure sector attracts investors seeking stable and predictable returns amid heighten...

Lotte Chemical, HD Hyundai seek to combine naphtha cracking facilities

Lotte Chemical Corp. and HD Hyundai Co. are in talks to consolidate their naphtha cracking operations in South Korea’s Daesan petrochemical co...

LG Energy, Samsung SDI to build 1st US LFP battery plants with GM

In a pivotal shift for the North American electric vehicle battery landscape, South Korea’s two leading battery makers – LG Energy Solut...

Shinsegae, Ascent Equity Partners weigh acquisition of C&C International

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group is seeking to acquire local color cosmetics manufacturer C&C International Co. in partnership with pri...

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

South Korean institutional investors are increasingly interested in separately managed accounts (SMAs) that offer customized strategies, as well as ...

Google partners with Samsung, Gentle Monster for new smart glasses

SILICON VALLEY – Google LLC is making a renewed push into the smart glasses market in partnership with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics...

NPS boosts allocation to direct lending, secondaries

The National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has been further diversifying its portfolio through increased expo...

Samsung flexes financial muscle as insurance, card units top rankings

Samsung Group’s financial affiliates are closing in on KB Financial Group for the top spot in South Korea’s financial services sector, u...

Lotte to retake $269 mn stake in logistics arm after flopped IPO

Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate by assets, will buy back a stake in Lotte Global Logistics Co. from the latter’s f...

MBK’s Lotte Card sale gains momentum amid Homeplus fallout

North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners’ second attempt to exit Lotte Card Co., South Korea’s fifth-largest car issuer, is g...

Korea’s Sono to sell Air Premia stake to focus on another LCC

South Korea's top resort operator Sono Hospitality Group has decided to sell its entire stake in low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Premia Inc. at a profit ...

Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

US tariffs add risk premium to dollar assets: Maurice Obstfeld

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US tariff increases are adding risk premiums to dollar-denominated assets, undermining the dollar’s role as a glo...

Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

DB Insurance becomes Daol Investment’s No.2 shareholder

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, has become Daol Investment & Securities Co.'s second-largest shareholder af...