Samil PwC dominates Korean M&A league table in H1

Accounting firm Samil PwC topped South Korea’s league table of mergers and acquisitions in the first half of the year after advising 27 deals despite the slowdown in the M&A market from the accelerating monetary tightening amid stubbornly high inflation.

According to the league table for the first half of 2022 compiled by Maeil Business Newspaper, Samil PwC ranked first in the financial advisory category by closing 27 deals worth 3.48 trillion won ($2.97 billion). It managed major deals, such as SK ecoplant’s takeover of Singapore-based e-waste recycling solution provider TES Envirocorp (1.17 trillion won), Doosan’s acquisition of Tesna (460 billion won), and Lotte’s acquisition of Ministop Korea (313.3 billion won).

Credit Suisse took second place in the same category after finalizing four deals worth 2.64 trillion won over the same period. It advised SKC’s deal worth 1.59 trillion won, the largest in the first half, to sell its PET film business to Hahn & Company. It was also behind Glenwood PE’s deal worth 592.5 billion won to sell Hanglass to LX International.

EY Hanyoung and Samjong KPMG, whose mainstay business is also accounting, ranked third and fourth. EY Hanyoung closed deals worth 1.70 trillion won, including the KG-led consortium’s acquisition of SsangYong Motor, while Samsung KPMG helped Skylake Investment’s acquisition of Tmax Soft (560 billion won).

The latest data shows that accounting firms are now key players in the Korean M&A market.

Total M&A deals in Korea in the first six months of 2022 amounted to 18.54 trillion won, down 25 percent from the previous year. The investment banking industry predicts a further slowdown in M&A activity in the country in the second half due to looming recession fears.

“The deals closed in the first half started negotiations last year. Considering the market atmosphere where firms are not eager for new deals, the number of deals in the second half will drop significantly,” said a source in the industry.

In the accounting advisory category, Samil PwC placed on the top with 46 advisory cases worth 7.22 trillion won. Samjong KPMG ranked second, followed by Deloitte Anjin and EY Hanyoung. As to the legal advisory category, Kim & Chang topped the list with 16.22 trillion won. It helped Samsung Biologics acquire the entire stake of Samsung Bioepis (2.76 trillion won). Shin & Kim ranked second. It successfully finalized SsangYong Motor’s deal.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]