Kakao Mobility takes first step toward 2022 IPO
Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea's most popular taxi-hailing app, has taken its first step toward a stock market debut, which is expected to value ...
Kakao Group’s past, present and future as conglomerate
Kakao Corp., which a decade ago was merely a mobile messenger operator, has now grown into one of the largest business groups in South Korea. The in...
MSCI adds SK Bioscience, SKIET, EcoPro BM to Korea Index
Global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) added SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), SK Bioscience Co. and EcoPro BM Co. to its K...
NCSoft to launch Lineage W, first game with priority on global users
South Korea’s leading game developer NCSoft Corp. will be launching its latest massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Lineag...
Kakao to strengthen subscription services after Q2 results
Kakao Corp. this year has reported the highest second-quarter earnings in company history.Its regulatory filing on Aug. 6 posted an operating profit...
Samsung Group joins Kakao in Bank of Korea’s digital currency project
Samsung Group will be working together with Kakao Corp. on the digital currency simulation project led by South Korea’s central bank. Accordin...
Market Kurly's IPO plans dwarfed by SSG.COM's IPO talk
Kurly Inc., which runs South Korea's online grocery delivery service Market Kurly, has tentatively halted its IPO process, about a month after it an...
CJ joins race for over $200 mn stake in SM Entertainment
South Korea's entertainment- and food-focused CJ Group has emerged as a darkhorse to buy a controlling stake worth about 300 billion won ($260 milli...
GS Group invests $26 mn in Kakao Mobility
South Korea’s GS Group has invested 30 billion won ($26 million) in Kakao Mobility Corp. to fast forward its energy unit’s transition to...
Delivery Hero gets 5 more months to sell Yogiyo until January
South Korea’s antitrust regulator said on Thursday it is extending the deadline for Germany’s Delivery Hero SE to sell food delivery pla...
Kakao Pay delays IPO following regulator request to refile prospectus
Kakao Pay Corp., the digital settlement platform unit of South Korea’s top messaging app operator Kakao Corp., is delaying its planned initial...
Kakao’s Ground X to work on Korea central bank digital currency initiative
Kakao Corp.’s blockchain arm Ground X was selected as a simulator for the Bank of Korea-led central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, beat...
Kakao Pay must refile IPO registration statement to FSS
South Korea’s financial regulator Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on July 16 requested correction of Kakao Pay’s IPO registration st...
Blackstone may team up with Mahle to buy Hanon Systems
The Blackstone Group is in discussions with German automotive parts manufacturer Mahle GmbH to make a joint bid for South Korea's Hanon Systems Corp...
Affinity, GS Retail likely to acquire Korean delivery platform Yogiyo
A consortium led by global investment firm Affinity Equity Partners is the most likely candidate to acquire South Korea’s second-largest food ...
BlackRock in talks to acquire Korea’s ESG-focused IGIS Private Equity
BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, is in talks to acquire IGIS Private Equity, a South Korea-based firm specialized in eco-fri...
Naver vs Kakao: Webtoon rivalry extends to superheroes
The fierce competition over webtoons between Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. enters another round as the two South Korean platform giants join forces wi...
LG invests $88 mn in Kakao Mobility as both seek new growth opportunities
LG Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group, is investing 100 billion won ($88 million) in Kakao Mobil...
Kakao Pay eyes August listing, seeks to raise near $2 bn
South Korea-based Kakao Pay Corp. is set to make a trading debut on the country's main bourse next month -- just a week after its sister company Kak...
Online players head S.Korea's biggest month for IPOs
South Korea's initial public offering market in July is expected to see its largest-ever amount of share issues for a single month, worth over 8 tri...
KakaoBank’s $2.3 bn IPO set to alter Korea’s banking landscape
KakaoBank Corp., the mobile banking unit of online messaging app giant Kakao Corp., is looking to raise as much as 2.55 trillion won ($2.26 billion)...
Kakao becomes 3rd most valuable company in Korea
Kakao Corp. is now the third most valuable company in Korea, after Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.Kakao’s market cap on June 15 surp...
Naver vs. Kakao: Global webtoon duel extends into Southeast Asia
The global webtoon battleground between South Korea's leading platforms Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. has expanded into Southeast Asia with each compa...
Hana Financial partners with Line to launch digital bank in Indonesia
Naver Corp.’s Japan-based messaging app affiliate Line Corp. is rapidly expanding its digital banking business in Asian countries outside Kore...
Kakao enters insurance sector for synergy with its online platforms
Kakao Corp.’s ambition to become an insurer is gradually becoming a reality. The platform giant’s application to start an insurance busi...
Toss Bank to compete with K Bank, Kakao Bank from September
Toss Bank in September will enter the race of internet-only banks in South Korea as the third player, competing against K Bank and Kakao Bank. Toss ...
NPS joins in TPG-led $125 mn funding for Kakao Mobility
The National Pension Service has committed $100 million to a TPG consortium that recently raised $116.8 million to invest in Kakao Mobility Co., Sou...
Kakao's fresh e-commerce strategy puts Naver, Coupang on guard
South Korea’s mobile platform Kakao Corp. is set to shake up the country's e-commerce market in the second half of the year with the launch of...
Kakao just behind rival Naver in market cap, may overtake soon
South Korean mobile platform giant Kakao Corp.’s enterprise value is rising backed by its strong business performance, threatening to overtake...
SM Entertainment emerges as next flashpoint for Kakao, Naver rivalry
As SM Entertainment Co., the label behind the global K-pop phenomenon, is up for grabs in the M&A market, the battle heats up between the countr...
