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3 weeks ago | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
An increasing number of asset management firms in South Korea are exercising their voting rights at portfolio companies more frequently than before. Nevertheless, they hardly opposed those companies’ proposed agenda, data shows. The regulatory Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said on Wednesday that the rate of asset managers’ proxy voting at shareholder meetings stood at 91.6% in the period from April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. Of the votes, only 6.8% were cast against their proposed agenda.
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1 month ago | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
The Pinkfong Company Inc., the creator of the billion-view video Baby Shark, has launched the process of an initial public offering on South Korea’s junior stock market Kosdaq as it rebounds from the post-pandemic slump. On Thursday, the South Korean startup submitted a preliminary filing to the Korea Exchange for its IPO. Mirae Asset Securities Co. and Samsung Securities Co. are are acting as joint underwriters.
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1 month ago | 
kedglobal.com | Jun-ho Cha |Seok-Cheol Choi
Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of HYBE Co., the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop global sensation BTS, could face prosecutors’ probes for an allegation of fraudulent activities linked to the company’s 2020 initial public offering.
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1 month ago | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate by assets, will buy back a stake in Lotte Global Logistics Co. from the latter’s financial investor for about 380 billion won ($269 million) after its logistics arm failed to go public. Lotte Corp., the group’s holding company, announced on Monday in a regulatory filing that LLH has exercised its right to sell 7,472,161 shares, or 21.87%, of Lotte Global Logistics under a put option agreement signed between the two parties in 2017.
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2 months ago | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
A consortium of IMM Private Equity Inc. and IMM Investment Corp. has secured full ownership of Hyundai LNG Shipping, South Korea’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker operator, stoking speculation that a renewed sale of the LNG tanker operator could be on the horizon.
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2 months ago | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
South Korea’s financial institutions are facing growing risks of their overseas real estate investments turning sour, government data showed on Friday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the balance of Korean financial firms’ overseas alternative investments stood at 55.8 trillion won ($38.8 billion) at the end of September 2024, of which 2.64 trillion won worth of property investments faced potential losses.
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Mar 11, 2025 | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
Hanwha Energy Corp., wholly owned by Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s three sons, has embarked on the process of going public – a move expected to accelerate the group’s transition to the third-generation leadership, according to investment sources on Tuesday. Hanwha Energy recently requested proposals for its initial public offering from domestic brokerage companies to pick lead managers, said the sources. The invited firms are expected to submit proposals as early as this week.
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Mar 4, 2025 | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co. (SGI) will raise 181.5 billion won ($124.2 million) through an initial public offering later this month in its second attempt to go public after calling off the previous IPO plan in 2023 due to tepid demand. The South Korean guarantee insurer announced on Tuesday that it set its IPO price at the bottom end of its indicative 26,000-31,800 won band, which was slashed by nearly 40% from its previous target value suggested in October 2023 to kindle investors' interest.
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Mar 3, 2025 | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
Lotte Group, grappling with a prolonged downturn in the petrochemical industry, plans to take Lotte Global Logistics Co. public by the end of June as part of the group's ongoing efforts to ease its liquidity shortfall. Investment banking sources said the logistics arm of the chemical-to-retail conglomerate is preparing to submit a securities report with the Korea Exchange as early as this month after finalizing its 2024 results.
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Feb 28, 2025 | 
kedglobal.com | Seok-Cheol Choi
Affinity Equity Partners said on Friday that it will sign a definitive agreement on March 11 with Lotte Group to acquire a 56.2% stake in South Korea’s No. 1 car rental and leasing company Lotte Rental Co. for 1.57 trillion won ($1.1 billion). It will purchase the shares from Hotel Lotte Co. and Hotel Lotte Pusan Co.The acquisition price includes 211.9 billion won Affinity is set to inject to purchase new shares to be issued by Lotte Rental, to shore up the latter's financial strength.
