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...

K-beauty brands shine among Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day bestsellers

Cosmetics and beauty devices made by South Korean companies dominated Amazon’s biggest summer shopping event this year, Prime Day, underscorin...

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...

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

South Korea’s Hanwha Group is seeking to sell the Korean operations of US premium burger chain Five Guys, two years after the brand’s hi...

Deal graveyard: S.Korean F&B franchise sales left without takers

Korean food is making waves globally, but back home, the story is different for food and beverage franchise operators. Franchisors in South Korea ar...

Hyundai premieres IONIQ 6 N: Latest motorsport DNA for electric age

In a dramatic showing on the famed hill climb of West Sussex, Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday debuted the IONIQ 6 N, its second high-performance elect...

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...

Even barcodes copied: Counterfeits invasion threatens K-brands

Counterfeit Korean beauty, fashion and food products are surging on overseas e-commerce platforms, with lookalike packaging making them hard to dist...

KakaoBank rallies after winning Thai virtual banking license

Shares in KakaoBank Corp. soared as much as 17% to hit their highest level in nearly three years on Friday after the South Korean internet-only bank...

Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok up ante to woo Korean beauty brands

Riding the wave of global enthusiasm for K-Beauty, e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and Alibaba are racing to bring South Korean cosmetics and bea...

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...

Genesis targets broader European presence with EV trio

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Co.'s premium brand, is expanding its European footprint to four additional countries –France, Spain, Italy and the Net...

CJ Foodville goes global from in-flight meals to Starbucks bread

CJ Foodville Co., a South Korean food company, is deepening its presence in Southeast Asia with premium bakery products, catering to airplane passen...

Goodai Global poised to build L'Oréal-style empire via M&As

Goodai Global Inc. is seeking to acquire South Korea’s first-generation independent cosmetics brand Skinfood for about 150 billion won ($108 m...

Europe looms large as K-beauty brands look to blue ocean; shares rise

South Korea’s beauty industry has been reaping decent gains from traditionally strong markets such as China and the US – the world&rsquo...

South Korea’s Rznomics inks $1.3 bn out-licensing deal with Eli Lilly

Rznomics Inc., a South Korean RNA therapeutics developer, has signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lill...

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...

Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a ...

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...

Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

As South Korea’s independent beauty brands continue to take the global stage by storm, investors are now looking beyond the creams and serums ...

Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

South Korea’s luxury goods market is becoming increasingly polarized, with ultra-high-end brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chan...

ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...

KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

Orchestra Private Equity has begun the process of divesting the South Korean operations of fast-food chain KFC, which has seen earnings growth since...

Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

MBK Special Situations relinquishes Korean investment advisory license

MBK Partners Special Situations (MBKP SS), which operates the Seoul-based private equity firm’s credit situations funds, has voluntarily relin...

J-R AMC, BlueCove bid on $70 million sale of Mirae Asset, NPS’ Shilla Stay

The sale of Shilla Stay Dongtan, a premium business hotel operated by South Korea’s Hotel Shilla Co., has attracted four bidders, underscoring...

LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

Korean sportswear brand Fila thrives in China, boding well for 2025 profit

South Korean sportswear brand Fila Holdings Corp. posted a loss in the fourth quarter of last year, hit by the downturn in the apparel industry and ...

Amorepacific's Aestura to enter US market with Sephora

South Korean beauty and cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. said on Wednesday that its derma cosmetic brand Aestura will enter the American market wi...

Korea’s Hwasung Cosmetics shines with Affirma Capital’s Midas touch

Singapore-based private equity firm Affirma Capital has turned Hwasung Cosmetics into an emerging original design manufacturer (ODM) for global beau...