KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn

KB Asset Management Co. has been named the preferred buyer of Signature Tower in what would be a landmark office property deal in South Korea this y...

Kakao, Naver step up global AI hunt amid fierce tech race

South Korea’s internet pioneers, Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp., are ramping up overseas investments in artificial intelligence startups, shiftin...

MBK, Mirae Asset to force CJ CGV to give up overseas cinema assets

MBK Partners Ltd. and Mirae Asset Securities Co. are set to force South Korea’s top multiplex cinema chain CJ CGV Co. to surrender control of ...

Hyundai Hyms sale kicks off as J& Private Equity sends out teaser letters

Hyundai Hyms Co., a Kosdaq-listed ship block manufacturer, is officially on the auction block as its private equity owner, J& Private Equity (J&...

Yes, it’s K-beauty: Strong buying appetite for makeup brands even before they're up for sale

In South Korea’s M&A landscape, beauty companies are no longer waiting to put themselves on the market. They’re being courted before...

Kakao Pay backs out of acquisition deal for Shinsegae’s SSG Pay, Smile Pay

Kakao Pay Corp., the mobile payment and digital wallet service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., has pulled out of a deal to acquire two ...

Hanwha seeks to buy Paraspara Seoul from developer tied to Banyan Tree Busan fire

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Co. is in talks to acquire Paraspara Seoul, a five-star hotel and resort, up for sale by a property developer facing lia...

Samsung to buy US health tech firm Xealth in digital health push

Samsung Electronics Co. will acquire Xealth, a US-based healthcare platform provider, as it steps up efforts to foster non-semiconductor businesses ...

Samsung’s Q2 operating profit halves amid sluggish chip sales

Samsung Electronics Co.'s operating profit in the second quarter missed market expectations, with a 56% on-year fall, as its mainstay semiconductor ...

Celltrion secures $730 mn to buy biosimilar unit shares, pursue M&A

Celltrion Holdings Co. has secured 1 trillion won ($732 million) in fresh funding and plans to spend half of it this year to buy shares in its biosi...

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 ...

LG Electronics acquires Norway’s OSO in bold HVAC expansion

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s leading electronics company, is doubling down on its bid to lead the burgeoning global heating, ventilation...

Tencent eyes 2nd-largest stake in Kakao Mobility amid broader Korea push

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has emerged as a surprise contender in a race to acquire a roughly 40% stake in Kakao Mobility Corp., the o...

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

As eyewear evolves into a key fashion statement, South Korea’s homegrown brands are setting their sights on the global stage with bold, unconv...

Jollibee to buy chicken chain Norang Tongdak amid global K-food frenzy

Jollibee Foods Corp., a household name in Southeast Asia’s food market, has been named the preferred buyer of Norang Tongdak, a South Korean f...

Invesco, SK D&D likely to buy co-living building in Seoul

A consortium between US asset management firm Invesco and the real estate investment arm of SK D&D Co. has been named the preferred buyer of Nou...

Korea to allow non-profits to buy bad consumer loans

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has proposed regulatory changes that would allow non-profit organizations to purchase bad loans from individ...

Kakao Mobility to build smart infrastructure for Saudi Diriyah project

Kakao Mobility Corp., which runs South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app, Kakao T, has clinched a deal to build a future mobility infrastr...

Tencent to become SM Entertainment's No. 2 shareholder via HYBE deal

Tencent Music Entertainment Group is set to become the second-largest shareholder of SM Entertainment Co. by acquiring HYBE Co.'s remaining shares i...

OpenAI sets up entity in Korea with most paid ChatGPT users outside US

OpenAI Inc., the creator of generative AI ChatGPT, has established a legal entity in South Korea, which has the largest number of paying ChatGPT sub...

Kakao Pay in talks to acquire SSG.COM’s SSG Pay and Gmarket’s Smile Pay

Kakao Pay Corp., the mobile payment and digital wallet service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., is in advanced negotiations to acquire t...

LS moves closer to role as Hanjin KAL’s white knight vs Hoban

Hanjin KAL Corp., the largest shareholder of Korean Air Lines Co., is strengthening its alliance with LS Group, the parent of LS Cable & System ...

Korean Air, Delta to buy 25% stake in Canada’s WestJet for $550 million

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s largest full-service carrier, and its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines Inc. will acquire a 25% stake ...

Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Kakao shares sink on SK Telecom’s stake sell-off news

Kakao Corp. shares underperformed its peers and the broad market on Friday after SK Telecom Co. sold off its entire stake in the South Korean platfo...

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...

KB Financial logs 61% profit growth, rebounding from ELS fiasco

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported a 61% jump in first-quarter profit, led by a nearly threefold rise in earnings at its flagship unit Koo...

S.Korean shipbuilders rally as Trump hints at buying foreign ships

South Korean shipbuilding stocks soared on Friday on news that US President Donald Trump indicated that the world’s No. 1 economy may purchase...

Kakao Entertainment scraps IPO, seeks new buyer

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s largest mobile platform, is looking to sell a majority stake in Kakao Entertainment Corp., dropping a plan to take ...