South Korea
Korean LPs prepare for a downturn - AVCJ Forum
Korean institutional investors are reviewing their alternatives allocations – and focusing new commitments on more liquid strategies such as credit – in anticipation of a correction in global markets.
MBK to sell stake in Korean life insurer for $2b
MBK Partners is set for a full exit from ING Life Korea – now known as Orange Life Insurance – after agreeing to sell its majority stake to Shinhan Financial Group for KRW2.29 trillion ($2.04 billion).
Korea buyouts: Local edge
Private equity firms must double down on local networking, due diligence, and value-add capacity as competition for deals intensifies in the Korean buyout market
Korea tender offers: Bidding on winners
Tender offers have long been overlooked in South Korea’s PE toolbox, where their traditional use in privatization deals seems to have little value. Local GPs may be able to adapt them to the market’s needs
Korean IPOs: The public eye
A growing number of South Korean buyout firms are testing the waters for domestic IPOs. Continued regulatory hurdles mean that realizing value will require planning for the post-offer period
Korea macro: Tempered tiger
Korea’s economic momentum has simmered down as demographic, political and industrial evolutions suggest a structural decline. Investors are monitoring the transition with a conditional sense of optimism
Korean project funds: Lines of sight
The prevalence of project funds in Korea is routinely linked to local institutional investors’ innate discomfort with blind pool vehicles. But is this dynamic holding back middle market managers?
Portfolio: Hahn & Co and H-Line Shipping
Hahn & Co’s investment in H-Line Shipping took the private equity firm into a faltering industry with a plan to focus on its most stable and profitable sub-segment
Japan's Line launches $10m token fund in Korea
Japan’s Line Corporation has set up a $10 million fund via a Korean subsidiary that will make token investments in early-stage blockchain start-ups.
Crescendo hits $398m hard cap on second Korea fund
Crescendo Equity Partners, a mid-market Korean GP that concentrates on the industrial technology space, has closed its second fund at the hard cap of KRW450 billion ($398 million).
Samsung to expand VC program in $22b innovation drive
Korea’s Samsung has committed KRW25 trillion ($22 billion) to a technology innovation drive that will focus strongly on domestic R&D and include an expansion of the company’s venture incubation program.
LP interview: Korea's POBA
Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association is expanding its private equity exposure and global footprint. Maintaining this diversification within the firm’s traditional risk profile requires a gradual approach
CDIB backs Korean cosmetic masks manufacturer
CDIB Capital, the private equity arm of Taiwan’s China Development Financial, has invested an undisclosed sum in Korean cosmetics maker E.CIS Cosmetic (ECIS).
Golden Equator, KIP launch Southeast Asia tech fund
Singapore’s Golden Equator Capital and Korea Investment Partners (KIP) have jointly launched a S$120 million ($88 million) Southeast Asia technology fund focused on start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SME).
VCs back $40m round for Korea's Fantom Foundation
Fantom Foundation, a Korean blockchain technology company, has received a $40 million funding round from a number of specialist investors, including US-based 8 Decimal Capital and Singapore’s Link VC.
Korea’s Viva Republica raises $40m
Singapore’s GIC Private and Sequoia Capital China have invested a combined $40 million in Korean financial technology company Viva Republica.
VIG nets 2.1x return on Korea price comparison site deal
VIG Partners has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Summerce Platform, operator of the Korean online price comparison website Enuri.com, to local e-commerce player Koreacenter for KRW105 billion ($97.8 million).
Deal focus: Hahn & Co finds its place in auto retail
Hahn & Co has completed carve-outs of a used-car retailer from SK Group and a car rental business from CJ Group with a view to pursuing consolidation in Korea's automobile retail and services space
VIG invests $129m in Korean eyewear retailer
VIG Partners has agreed to pay KRW137.5 billion ($129 million) for an approximately 42% stake in Korean beauty contact lens and fashion sunglasses retailer Star Vision.
Korea Post Insurance to allocate $200m to global buyout funds
Korea Post Insurance plans to allocate $200 million to as many as three managers focusing on global buyouts, predominantly in North America and Europe.
Korean drug developer raises $21.8m Series B round
TiumBio, a South Korean drug developer working on treatments for cancer, diabetes and hemophilia, has secured KRW23.5 billion ($21.8 million) in Series B funding.
Profile: SparkLabs Group's Bernard Moon
Bernard Moon, co-founder of SparkLabs Group, has helped bring a global approach to seed investment. Early work bridging US and Korean start-up cultures clarified the value in going cross-border early
Korea's Crescendo makes partial exit from Model Solution
South Korean GP Crescendo Equity Partners has agreed to make a partial exit from precision prototype manufacturer Model Solution as part of a deal that will see Hankook Tire assume control of the business.
Carlyle set for $1.2b cash exit from Korea's ADT Caps
The Carlyle Group has agreed to sell ADT Caps, a South Korean security monitoring and dispatch business, to SK Telecom and Macquarie Group for an enterprise valuation of KRW2.97 trillion ($2.7 billion).