South Korea
PE & PR: Private equity’s public face
Private equity is more entrenched and better understood in some Asian markets than others. What do the various stakeholders - entrepreneurs, government, media, public - make of the asset class?
Asia fundraising: Emerging LPs
Led by a clutch of sovereign wealth funds, Asia’s emerging LPs are looking to boost their alternatives exposure. Fund managers in search of allocations must find out what makes these institutions tick
Q&A: Unitas Capital's John Lewis
John Lewis, chief investment officer at Unitas Capital, talks to AVCJ about the importance of reputation in Asia from fundraising through post-deal value-add to exiting portfolio companies to multinational buyers
Paul Hastings opens Seoul office
Paul Hastings has opened an office in Seoul, its 20th location globally. It follows a number of international law firms in setting up a presence in South Korea.
South Korea VC: State subsidies
South Korea’s venture capital industry is the fourth-largest in the world thanks to generous government support. But is this support helping or hindering the development of self-sustaining investment ecosystem?
Korean court says Woongjin will honor MBK’s Coway deal
A South Korean court overseeing bankruptcy proceedings of Woongjin Holdings has said that the company’s biggest shareholder will honor an agreement to sell a controlling stake in subsidiary Woongjin Coway to MBK Partners. The deal was put on hold last...
Tech-focused US M&A advisor sets up in Seoul
J. Moore Partners, a technology-focused investment bank based in San Francisco, has opened an office in Seoul as part of plans to expand into Asia. It claims to be the first US technology M&A advisory firm to establish a presence in the city.
Partners VC buys stake in Korea’s Panax Etec
Partners Venture Capital has purchased a 10% stake in Panax Etec, a South Korean battery electrolyte manufacturer, for KRW10 billion ($9 million). The investment facilitates the partial exit of Samsung Venture Investment and Bokwang Investment.
3Q analysis: The bottom falls out of RMB fundraising
China US dollar funds attract more capital than renminbi vehicles; trade sales and secondary buyouts continue to gather pace; positive early signs for China buyouts
Korea’s outbound mandate
Despite numerous government initiatives promoting overseas M&A, Korean conglomerates outside the energy space are still relatively conservative. Can private equity help turn the tide?
Bankrupt Woongjin halts $1.1b Coway sale to MBK
MBK Partners’ KRW1.2 trillion ($1.1 billion) investment in water purifier business Woongjin Coway appears to be on shaky ground after parent company Woongjin Holdings filed for court receivership on Wednesday and put the deal on hold.
Moogwi Kim leaves Asia Alternatives
Moogwi Kim, an investment associate at fund-of-funds Asia Alternatives, has left the company. He plans to spend a year studying in France and Singapore before returning to the market in 2014.
Orix named preferred bidder for Korea’s STX Energy
Japan’s Orix Corp. has been selected as the preferred bidder for a significant stake in STX Energy, an unlisted affiliate of South Korean conglomerate STX Group.
Headland names Raffini, Thompson as chairman and CEO
Headland Capital Partners has appointed George Raffini as chairman and Marcus Thompson as CEO. They were previously joint managing partners of the private equity firm, having led a spin out from HSBC in 2010.
MBK targets $2.25b for fund III
MBK Partners has launched its third buyout fund with a target of $2.25 billion, AVCJ has been told. It is the latest in a string of large-cap pan-regional funds to enter the market, joining the likes of KKR, TPG Capital, The Carlyle Group and RRJ Capital.
GPs' optimism: Korea redux
Despite a few issues, South Korea has always been a favored market for Asian private equity investors. That is hardly surprising as the many of the best performing transactions in the history of the asset class in Asia have come out of Korea. It could...
KT, NPS, Korea Post set up outbound M&A fund
Korean telecom giant KT Corporation has teamed up with the National Pension Fund (NPS) and Korea Post to form a KRW1 trillion ($883 billion) fund that will make acquisitions overseas. It is the latest of several initiatives launched by Korean corporations...
StepStone adds two managing directors to Asia team
StepStone has appointed Mu-shin Kim and Andy Tsai as managing directors to its Asia team. While Kim will cover investments and business development in Korea and Japan, Tsai will focus on Taiwan and broader Asia. Both will be based in the firm’s Beijing...
MAVCAP forms alliance with regional partners
VC firm Malaysia Venture Capital Management has agreed a co-investment partnership with three foreign VC firms and another Malaysian company. The foreign firms are located in China, South Korea and the US.
Asia PE investment: Korea makes a splash
With four deals of $350m or more in the last few weeks, South Korea has made its mark on Asia’s private equity investment league table. Why is it happening and can it continue?
STIC-led group preferred bidder for Korean weapons manufacturer
A consortium formed by South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments and brokerage Hana Daetoo Securities has been selected as the preferred bidder for a stake in South Korea's LIG Nex1. The weapons manufacturer is offloading a 49% interest worth...
MBK agrees $1.1b deal for Korea’s Woongjin Coway
MBK Partners has agreed to pay KRW1.1 trillion ($1.1 billion) for a 31% stake in Woongjin Coway, the water purifier business of South Korean conglomerate Woongjin Holdings. It is the country’s joint-largest private equity transaction this year and brings...
Daewoo to sell $1.1b Kyobo Life stake to Affinity-led PE group
A group of investors led by Affinity Equity is buying a KRW1.2 trillion ($1.1 billion) stake in unlisted Kyobo Life Insurance, the smallest of South Korea’s Big Three life insurers, from Posco-owned Daewoo International.
Offshore investors: Leap into the unknown
With commitments from domestic LPs easing off, Australian, Japanese and Korean GPs are looking to raise capital from overseas investors. They are entering new territory and some are better prepared than others