South Korea's M&A Market Collapses as Investment Drops 40%
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South Korea's merger and acquisition (M&A) market experienced a dramatic downturn in 2024, with investment plummeting by approximately 40 percent compared to last year, reports Yonhap News Agency.
According to data from corporate research firm CEO Score, the combined M&A investment by the top 361 South Korean companies reached 8.58 trillion won (US$5.97 billion) as of December 13, representing a significant 39.3 percent decrease from the 14.13 trillion won recorded in 2023.
The number of completed M&A deals also experienced a sharp decline, falling to 50 this year, down from 87 in 2023 and less than a third of the 150 deals recorded in 2022.
The only M&A deal in 2024 exceeding 1 trillion won was the acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc. by Korean Air Co., highlighting the overall decline in large-scale transactions.
Other notable deals included Hanwha Aerospace Co.'s acquisition of Dyna-Mac, a Singaporean floating offshore facilities specialist, for 820.7 billion won. Kakao Corp., previously known for its aggressive M&A strategy, completed only one deal this year, acquiring Teins Valley, a golf software system startup.
SK Group and Naver Corp. also remained largely inactive in the M&A market this year.