[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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