South Korea
KIC president resigns
Korea Investment Corp’s (KIC) president and CEO, Chong-Suk Choi, has resigned for personal reasons.
Alvarez & Marsal opens Korea office
Turnaround management and business advisory specialist Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has opened an office in Seoul and appointed Jay Kim as managing director to lead its business activities in South Korea.
All about Korea
More than 10 years and a host of bank turnarounds and corporate restructurings ago, South Korea was Asia’s most active private equity market. According to AVCJ Research, $3.1 billion was deployed in the country in 2000, comfortably ahead of second-placed...
PE firms bid for South Korea’s Woori assets
Several private equity firms have submitted bids for parts of Woori Finance Holdings in the second of three separate auctions intended to finally dispose of the Korean government’s interest in the business.
MSPEA set for partial exit as Hyundai Rotem IPO raises $585m
Hyundai Rotem, a train manufacturer backed by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), will complete the fourth-largest IPO ever executed on the Korea Exchange and the biggest in more than three years. The offering will generate proceeds of KRW622.4...
Korea’s Anchor Equity closes debut fund at $500m
Anchor Equity Partners has reached a final close on its debut South Korea-focused fund at the hard cap of $500 million. The firm – set up last year by a group that spun out from Goldman Sachs’ private equity unit – targets buyout, growth capital...
3Q analysis: Haves and have nots
Third quarter analysis: Fundraising fortunes become ever more polarized; Korea continues to be the stand-out buyout market, while India shows growth from a very low base; China IPOs are on the comeback trail
South Korea's Troika Resources, Canada's Bellatrix form oil JV
Bellatrix Exploration, a small Canadian oil and gas explorer, has formed a C$240 million ($231 million) joint venture with the South Korea's Troika Resources Private Equity Fund (TRPEF) - which is managed by KDB Bank, SK Energy and Samchully Asset Management...
Oaktree agrees tanker deal with Singapore's Navig8
Oaktree Capital Management and Singaporean shipping management firm Navig8 have agreed to form a shipping joint venture, Navig8 Chemical Tankers.
MBK closes third North Asia buyout fund at $2.7b hard cap
MBK Partners has closed its third fund at the hard cap of $2.7 billion after just over one year in the market. The North Asia-focused GP, which was founded by Michael B. Kim, former president of Carlyle Asia Partners, set an initial target of around $2.25...
MSPEA completes quiet Korea acquisition
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia’s (MSPEA) investment in Ssangyong C&B and Monalisa is like an iceberg: only one sixth was immediately visible. When the deal was first announced earlier this year, the information disclosed concerned a South Korean...
MSPEA-backed Hyundai Rotem to raise up to $575m in IPO
Hyundai Rotem, a South Korean train maker backed by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), intends to raise as much as KRW622.4 billion ($575 million) in what is set to be the country's biggest IPO so far this year.
Japan's Rakuten acquires VC-backed video site Viki
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has acquired Viki, a VC-backed global video streaming platform.The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Korea launches fund class to support overseas contractors
South Korea plans to launch specialist private equity funds as a means of encouraging financial institutions to support local firms competing for overseas construction contracts. The government hopes that $8.6 billion can be raised through these funds...
MBK Partners to buy ING Life Korea for $1.65b
North Asia buyout firm MBK Partners has agreed to buy ING Group’s South Korean life insurance division for approximately KRW1.84 trillion ($1.65 billion) as the Dutch insurer continued its Asia divestment plan. ING will retain a 10% stake in the business...
IMM, Mirae forge POSCO steel investment
POSCO Specialty Steel (PSS) CAME into being 1997 when steelmaker POSCO bought most of manufacturing facilities of Sammi Specialty Steel, one of a host of Korean corporates struggling to service its debts in the midst of a credit crisis.
Korea's IMM, Mirae invest $224m in POSCO Specialty Steel
IMM Private Equity and Mirae Asset Private Equity have together invested KRW250 billion ($223.6 million) for a 24% stake in POSCO Specialty Steel (POSCO SS), an affiliate of national steelmaker POSCO. POSCO SS abandoned an IPO effort in December – set...
Korea's KIC to boost alternatives exposure to as much as $10b
Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) is planning to triple its allocation to alternative assets - spending as much as $10 billion in an effort to diversify its portfolio.
MBK in exclusive talks with ING to acquire Korea unit - report
MBK Partners has reportedly entered into exclusive talks regarding the sale of ING Groep's South Korean life insurance business. The private equity firm is said to have offered KRW1.8 trillion ($1.6 billion) for the entire operation.
Deal focus: Affinity agrees chaebol restructuring carve-out
Apple iTunes store has a library of more than 26 million songs, a presence in 119 countries and revenues of $12.9 billion in 2012. Its US market share is around 63%.
Affinity pays $239m for majority stake in Korean music platform
Affinity Equity Partners will pay KRW265.9 billion ($239 million) for a 52.6% stake in Loen Entertainment, a South Korean record label and digital music platform. The holding is being divested by SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, the country's largest...
Caffeinated returns: Private equity's coffee shop craving
Private equity is already leveraging the growing popularity of coffee shops across Asia. But where is the next frontier – and is it all about the coffee?
Rich man’s game: The cost of fundraising in Asia
Asian GPs and fund lawyers are struggling with a demand-supply imbalance. LPs are negotiating more and conceding less - but for all that managers say fundraising costs are going up, lawyers say fees are going down
MBK considers IPO for Taiwan’s CNS – report
MBK Partners is reportedly considering an IPO for China Network Systems (CNS), Taiwan’s largest cable TV and broadband provider, in place of a longstanding trade sale agreement that has yet to materialize amid regulatory concerns.