[Weekly M&A] Harman's 2.6 Trillion Won Bet · KFC's 3x Exit... Samsung and Google 'Bought' while PEFs 'Sold'

The M&A market in the fourth week of December 2025 showed a 'stark temperature difference.' In the F&B (food and beverage) industry, private equity funds (PEFs) and conglomerates hit an 'exit jackpot,' reaping returns of up to three times their principal after several years, while Homeplus, a traditional retail powerhouse, was pushed to the edge of a cliff amid heightening fears of liquidation. In the tech sector, global big tech companies such as Samsung Electronics (Harman) and Google poured in trillions of won to preempt infrastructure and automotive electronics businesses.

■ F&B 'Exit Jackpot' Parade... KFC and Five Guys Realize '3x Profit' What heated up the market this week was the news of successful sales of food and beverage franchises that shone even in the recession. According to the IB (investment banking) industry, Orchestra PE signed a definitive agreement to sell a 100% stake in KFC Korea to global private equity fund Carlyle Group. It is expected to be recorded as a successful case of reaping a profit of more than three times the principal in just 2 years and 6 months after the acquisition. Hanwha Galleria also sold the operator of hamburger franchise Five Guys (FG Korea) to domestic PEF H&Q. The sale price is approximately 60 billion won, realizing a three-fold profit in just about five months and securing ammunition to strengthen its department store business. In addition, Rapholabs confirmed its acquisition of SK Stoa, heralding the expansion of the commerce market for people in their 40s and 50s, while the low-cost coffee franchise The Liter restarted the sale of its management rights after three years.

■ Tech Giants' 'Trillion-Won' Bets... Broad Moves by Harman, Google, and Kakao Bold investments by big tech companies to secure future technologies also continued.

• Samsung Electronics' Harman: Significantly strengthened its automotive electronics business competitiveness by acquiring the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) division of German auto parts maker ZF for 2.6 trillion won.

• Google (Alphabet): Moved to expand AI infrastructure by acquiring energy infrastructure company 'Intersect' for $4.75 billion (approximately 7 trillion won) to supply power to data centers.

• Kakao and Naver: Alignments and coalitions among platform companies were also detected. Kakao is discussing a plan to spin off its portal 'Daum' and merge it with AI startup Upstage, while Naver Financial is reportedly planning an IPO in 2030 after merging with Dunamu.

■ Homeplus, Liquidation Fears Spread... Restructuring Cold Wave in Retail Industry On the other hand, the offline retail industry faced a harsh winter. Homeplus, which failed in its M&A before the approval of corporate rehabilitation, saw its sense of crisis reach a peak as the possibility of liquidation was raised. The situation is so urgent that the previously hardline labor union has for the first time stated its position to partially accept restructuring, such as store closures and workforce reductions. Some in political circles even brought up the theory of an acquisition by Coupang citing social responsibility, but whether it will materialize remains unknown. Even in the manufacturing industry, a cold wind of restructuring is blowing in the aftermath of the 'chasm' (temporary stagnation in demand), with LG Chem implementing remote work and relocations for the workforce at its Cheongju separator plant.

■ PEFs and VCs, Selective Investment in Prime 'Deep Tech and Education' Assets In the mid-to-small market, funds flocked to sectors with clear growth potential.

• Daol PE: Set out to acquire EduCNT, the operator of English education content 'Exam4You'. This is interpreted as a high valuation of its stable cash-generating ability.

• VC Industry: Fund formations in the deep tech and AI sectors were active. Murex Partners created a 25.7 billion won deep tech fund, and Shinhan Financial formed a 40 billion won AI-exclusive fund.

• Others: Japan's SBI Holdings was approved to acquire a stake of more than 20% in Kyobo Life Insurance, rising to become the second-largest shareholder and commencing full-scale financial cooperation. YLAB acquired fandom business company Details, and NCSOFT acquired Vietnamese game company Lihuhu, respectively focusing on IP and global expansion.

The M&A market this week showed a distinct 'polarization' phenomenon, with funds concentrating in the 'F&B (food and beverage)' sector, which proved its solid cash flow, and the 'AI and automotive electronics' sector, which holds the nature of future infrastructure, while offline retail, having lost its competitiveness, was thoroughly shunned. In particular, as conglomerates and PEFs are expected to move to preempt high-quality assets early next year based on the massive cash secured from exits, the market is projected to continue as a 'Buyer's Market' where cash-holding buyers take the lead for the time being.