Korean VC firms lose appetite for investment in startups amid dearth of IPOs, M&As for exit

South Korea’s startup community is facing its sharpest funding squeeze in over a decade, as venture capital (VC) firms retreat from new invest...

South Korean asset managers step up push into private debt market

South Korean asset managers are ramping up private credit operations as global demand for nonbank lending grows in the wake of tighter bank regulati...

K-beauty giant LG H&H puts Coca-Cola bottling unit, other beverage assets up for sale

LG H&H Co., South Korea’s second-largest cosmetics firm after Amorepacific Corp., has put its prized Coca-Cola bottling subsidiary and oth...

Korean firms eye $5 bn in bond sales as credit spread hits 14-mth low

South Korean companies are ramping up bond offerings ahead of the Korean Thanksgiving holiday in early October, taking advantage of falling interest...

UCK Partners sues ex-employee in Korea’s 1st PE non-compete case

UCK Partners has sued a former senior employee who joined local rival Premier Partners in June, alleging he violated a non-compete clause, in what i...

Global private equity firms line up for laundry chain Cleantopia, now up for grabs

JKL Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, is set to finalize a shortlist of bidders this month for Cleantopia, the country’s largest l...

Fabless chip unicorn FuriosaAI raises $120 mn in new funding

South Korea’s AI chip designer FuriosaAI Inc. said on Thursday it has raised 170 billion won ($120 million) in bridge funding from about 40 in...

SK Innovation to Merge SK On and SK Enmove to Strengthen Battery Unit

SK Innovation is betting big on an internal reshuffle to turn things around for its struggling battery business.The South Korean energy and chemicals ...

Korea Investment & Securities, Muzinich & Co. explore strategic partnership on global credit portfolio

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), the brokerage unit of Korea Investment Holding Co., is exploring a strategic partnership with US privat...

Bain Capital set to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials' tire cord business

US private investment firm Bain Capital is poised to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp.'s tire steel cord business in a deal estimated...

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...

S.Korea avoids recession with 0.6% Q2 GDP growth; US tariff impact seen limited

The South Korean economy returned to firmer footing in the second quarter, expanding 0.6% from the previous three months, as a recovery in exports a...

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&...

Korea Investment & Securities, UBP seek private banking partnership

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Thursday it has discussed a strategic partnership with...

Korea’s game studios rebrand as AI tech firms, move into fashion, robotics, media

What was once a world of elves, dragons and power-ups is now giving rise to one of South Korea’s most unexpected tech revolutions, with game s...

IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 t...

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding Co., a mid-tier South Korean shipbuilder, will be put on the market this month after a strong turnaround. The deal, estimated at 500 ...

Korean waste management firm Koentec put on market for $730 mn

Korea Environment Technology Co. (Koentec) is up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to 1 trillion won ($730.4 million) with global private equit...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

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...

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 ...

POBA bullish on REITs, real estate debts and senior housing

South Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) is betting big on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and senior housing in the US...

KIC bets on Asian real estate; eyes residential, data centers

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) is zeroing in on Asia’s real estate market by region, while targeting residential facilities and data c...

Samsung gears up for foray into space infrastructure industry

Samsung Group is stepping up efforts to venture into the space infrastructure industry, a sector analysts say remains a blue ocean where South Korea...

Korean teachers' fund to commit $495 mn to 10 PE firms

The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU), a retirement fund operator for South Korean teachers, has picked 10 local private equity firms to ru...

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...

S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

SK Innovation E&S, JB Financial team up for renewable energy loans

JB Financial Group Co., the parent company of Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank, will join hands with SK Innovation E&S Co. and InnerGen Co. to roll...

EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa

EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...

Hahn & Co. acquires SK Specialty for $1.8 billion

Hahn & Co., South Korea’s largest private equity firm, has finalized the acquisition of SK Specialty Co., the world’s leading produc...