Kakao to buy FreeNow
Scope
Date
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Business & Politics
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...
6 HOURS AGO
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Future mobility
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...
Jun 02, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
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...
May 28, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
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...
May 26, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
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...
May 25, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
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 ...
May 18, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airlines
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 ...
May 11, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
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...
May 09, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Earnings
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...
May 08, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
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...
Apr 25, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
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...
Apr 24, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Earnings
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...
Apr 24, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
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...
Apr 11, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
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 ...
Apr 08, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
Kakao Entertainment sheds loss-making units, revives IPO prospects
Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms, which it has gobbled up over the past few year...
Apr 07, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Asia Property to buy WeWork building in Seoul
Seoul-based real estate investment firm Asia Property has been picked as the sole preferred bidder for an office building currently occupied by cowo...
Apr 04, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean games
Krafton buys India’s Nautilus Mobile, fueling IP race in Korean game scene
Krafton Inc., one of South Korea’s top four market-cap gaming firms, has taken over Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million, upp...
Mar 30, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
VIG taps KDB financing to buy 40% stake in Kakao Mobility
South Korea’s private equity firm VIG Partners’ buyout of minority stakes in Kakao Mobility Corp., the nation’s most popular taxi-...
Mar 27, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
KKR, Carlyle, Hillhouse race to buy Korean beauty device maker Classys
Global private equity giants such as KKR & Co., Carlyle Group and Hillhouse Capital Group Holdings are vying to acquire Classys Inc. as the Sout...
Mar 26, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airlines
Korean Air to finalize $32.7 bn deals with Boeing, GE Aerospace
Korean Air Lines Co., the country’s top full-service carrier, is set to soon finalize $32.7 billion deals with Boeing Co. and GE Aerospace for...
Mar 23, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Daol PE buys Youngil Glass to ride Korean cosmetics boom
Daol Private Equity has acquired Youngil Glass Industry Co., a South Korean manufacturer of glass containers, in a 65 billion won ($44.5 million) de...
Mar 20, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
NPS to buy stake in Australia’s Metrics to expand alternative investments
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has agreed to buy a stake in Australian asset mana...
Mar 17, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
BNK's planned acquisition of Hyundai Motor Securities building falters
BNK Asset Management Co.'s bid to acquire the Hyundai Motor Securities building in central Seoul has hit a stumbling block as the main tenant, Hyund...
Mar 14, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leadership & Management
Kakao founder Kim to resign as control tower chair
Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, will step down as chairman of the South Korean tech giant’s top decision-making bod...
Mar 13, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Hydrogen economy
Samsung E&A buys Norwegian Nel stake for hydrogen business push
South Korea’s Samsung E&A Co. has purchased a stake in Norway’s hydrogen technology company Nel ASA at 47.6 billion won ($32.8 milli...
Mar 12, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder value
Hana Financial to boost corporate value by raising shareholder returns
South Korea’s Hana Financial Group aims to increase corporate value by ramping up shareholder returns based on a sustainable profit structure ...
Feb 27, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
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...
Feb 19, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Seoul Private Equity seeks to buy Winia under court receivership
Seoul Private Equity has signed a conditional agreement to buy Winia Co., a home appliance manufacturer under court receivership, through a stalking...
Feb 19, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
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...
Feb 12, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hanwha agrees to buy 60% stake in Ourhome for $599 mn
South Korea’s Hanwha Group, which is seeking to re-enter the catering market five years after leaving the sector, has agreed to buy a nearly 6...
Feb 11, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
- 1 Lee Jae-myung to meet with top business leaders this week ahead of G7 summit
- 2 Korea to allow non-profits to buy bad consumer loans
- 3 LG to drive future growth in emerging markets with battery prowess
- 4 South Korean President Lee, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba seek closer ties
- 5 Naver Ventures to plant flag in Silicon Valley with TwelveLabs bet