A look into merger and acquisition deals reported by the top 500 South Korean firms over the past five years showed that the companies remained active in the market despite the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

According to corporate tracker CEOScore, the businesses spent a combined 11.45 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in 52 M&A cases in the first eights months of this year.

Some of the biggest deals included KB Financial Group taking over Prudential Life Insurance for about 2.3 trillion won. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding holding firm of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, bought Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for some 2.1 trillion won. Netmarble acquired Coway for 1.7 trillion won.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)