GE Capital’s sale of Hyundai Capital stake to be decided in July

[THE INVESTOR] GE Capital will decide on the sale of its stake in Hyundai Capital Services within July, industry sources said on July 8. GE Capital currently holds 20 percent of Hyundai Motor Group’s financing arm. The US firm plans to unload the shares, and with no buyer appearing, GE Capital had planned to exercise the put option and resell to Hyundai Motor Group.Based on the most recent transaction regarding Hyundai Capital Services’ shares, its stake is likely to cost around 700 billion won

July 8, 2016

FTC refuses to delay decision on SK-CJ merger

[THE INVESTOR] The Fair Trade Commission has refused CJ HelloVision’s request to delay its decision on the planned merger and acquisition deal with SK Broadband, an IPTV firm run by SK Telecom. FTC officials told Herald Business and The Investor that they would not be pushing back the schedule.  Last week, the regulator handed down a preliminary decision to CJ and SK, saying that it opposes the merger, as it could hamper fair market competition by unleashing an excessively-dominant player. CJ an

July 8, 2016

CJ HelloVision asks watchdog to postpone decision on M&A with SK Broadband

[THE INVESTOR] Cable TV operator CJ HelloVision has sought the antitrust regulator’s permission to delay a meeting for deciding on its planned merger and acquisition deal with SK Broadband, a local IPTV firm.To that end, it also said it would like to delay submitting a report on the matter. “We have asked the Fair Trade Commission to postpone its July 15 standing committee meeting by a month, and the report deadline to Aug. 4,” CJ HelloVision said in a statement, stressing that the schedule is t

July 8, 2016

Haier, CJ, Cuckoo may bid for Tongyang Magic

[THE INVESTOR] China’s Haier and Korea’s CJ and Cuckoo are surfacing as likely bidders to acquire Tongyang Magic, a local appliance maker whose key business is water purifier rental service. Toyang’s largest shareholders Glenwood Private Equity and NH Private Equity, both based in Korea, plan to send information memorandum to possible bidders next week with aims to start the bidding process from later this month. According to industry sources, Tongyang had long gauged its entry into the Chinese

July 8, 2016

NH Investment buys Australian Red Cross‘ building for $86m

[THE INVESTOR] NH Investment & Securities said on July 8 that it bought the Australian Red Cross’ office building in Sydney for some 100 billion won (US$ 86.3 million). The South Korean securities firm raised real estate funds with FG Asset Management to acquire the 12,700-square-meter building in Kent Street, Sydney. Built in 2011, the five-story building is on a 15-year lease contract with the Red Cross. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

July 8, 2016

Korean PEF to buy Outback Steakhouse Korea

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean private equity firm SkyLake Investment plans to acquire Outback Steakhouse Korea, the Australian-themed US restaurant chain. The Nasdaq-listed Bloomin’ Brands, which owns the chain, selected the PEF as a preferred bidder for its 100 percent stake in the restaurant, according to sources in the investment banks industry on June 30.Outback Steakhouse KoreaBloomin’ Brands and SkyLake Investment are expected to ink a stock purchase agreement as early as July 1 in a deal wo

June 30, 2016

Hyundai Securities to sell stake in K Bank

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Securities plans to sell its stake in K Bank, one of Korea’s first Internet-only banks, the firm said on June 23. The brokerage firm is the third-largest shareholder of K Bank, to be launched by No. 2 telecom operator KT, with 10 percent shares.It will seek a board approval for the transaction at a meeting on June 28. “We gained the consent from K Bank’s other shareholders regarding the share sell-off,” a Hyundai Securities official said. “We will begin the disposal proced

June 23, 2016

Lotte probe bodes ill for Korea’s M&A market

[THE INVESTOR] The ongoing investigation into Lotte Group could deal a significant blow to Korea’s M&A market, finance industry sources say. Lotte Group has come under scrutiny over alleged corruption that runs to the very top, effectively putting all major plans on hold. With Lotte being one of the biggest players in M&As, concerns are growing that the market will feel a major pinch.  123rf.According to finance industry data, Lotte Group spent more than 7.6 trillion won (US$6.57 billion) to tak

June 22, 2016

M&A deals reshape local brokerage industry landscape

[THE INVESTOR] Mergers and acquisitions among midsized brokerages will continue to shape the securities industry in the second half of 2016, following mega deals signed by top local players earlier.After the big merger deals of Daewoo Securities and Hyundai Securities earlier this year and last year, M&A activities in the industry are expected to pick up due to deteriorating balance sheets. “Brokerage houses will come under growing pressure to drive growth through M&As as their growth woe worsen

June 20, 2016

Korean builders seek new owner after court receivership

[THE INVESTOR] A handful of Korean companies, which have put under court-led restructuring programs, are seeking out new buyers, sources said on June 17. Financially troubled firms, mainly builders, are putting themselves on the mergers and acquisitions market after the Seoul Central District Court helps them to clean up their balance sheet during the debt workout scheme. “The local M&A market is expected to be packed by firms that underwent court-led revamp as more companies rely on the court a

June 17, 2016

Woori Bank to be put up for sale again

[THE INVESTOR] The government plans to make its fifth attempt to sell Woori Bank in August at the earliest, a key official overseeing the sale process said on June 17. “The success of Woori Bank sale can’t be guaranteed as market sentiment can shrink due to variables like Brexit but we are considering giving a public notice of the disposal between August and September,” said Yoon Chang-hyun, chairman of Public Fund Management Committee of Financial Services Commission. Woori Bank, the country’s

June 17, 2016

Goldman Sachs acquires Carver Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Goldman Sachs has bought a majority stake in local cosmetics company Carver Korea in a deal worth some 400 billion won (US$ 341.7 million), an industry source said Friday. A consortium, formed by Goldman Sachs and private equity fund Bain Capital, has struck a deal to acquire more than 50 percent stake in Carver Korea. Before the deal, 60.17 percent shares were owned by the cosmetic maker’s chief executive Lee Sang-rok. Carver Korea, which is well-known here for its beauty product

June 17, 2016

GE plans to sell shares in Hyundai Card to several PEFs

[THE INVESTOR] GE Capital, financial services unit of the US conglomerate General Electric, is in final-stage talks to sell its stake in Korea’s Hyundai Card and Hyundai Capital, to unwind a decade-old joint venture relationship that it formed with Hyundai Motor. As a part of GE’s move to shift away from consumer finance globally, GE Capital plans to sell its 43 percent stake worth 760 billion won (US$ 650 million) in the credit card business to several private equity funds by splitting the stak

June 17, 2016

Anchor Equity Partners to sell Kyungnam Energy

[THE INVESTOR] Anchor Equity Partners , a Seoul-based private equity fund, plans to sell its stake in Kyungnam Energy after the gas provider delisted from the benchmark KOSPI last month, according to a source at an investment bank on June 16.Anchor Equity Partners, the second-largest shareholder of Kyungnam Energy, recently sent out a request for proposals to local and foreign investment banks and is currently seeking advisors for the deal. The disposal plan comes two years after the PEF acquire

June 16, 2016

[EXCLUSIVE] Lotte drops DFA bid amid widening probe

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group has given up its plans to acquire Duty Free Americas Inc., the largest duty-free operator in the U.S., amid the widening probe that had earlier forced the South Korean retail giant to withdraw plans to list its hotel unit, The Korea Herald found Thursday.“The group has effectively given up on the potential acquisition of a U.S. duty-free operator worth 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion), now that the initial public offering of its hotel unit has been indefinitely delayed

June 16, 2016

Cheil Worldwide ends merger talks with Publicis

[THE INVESTOR] Cheil Worldwide, an advertising unit of Samsung Group, said on June 13 that talks to sell a controlling stake to French ad giant Publicis Groupe have failed. In a regulatory filing, the nation’s No. 1 ad agency said it was not in talks with any other firm.“Talks between main stakeholders and the global advertising agency ended without a specific conclusion,” the company said. Over the past week, media reports have speculated that Cheil was discussing stake sales with other compani

June 14, 2016