[Weekly M&A] Mirae Asset Embraces 'Korbit', Homeplus Faces 'Restructuring'… A 2025 Finale of Mixed Fortunes

The M&A market in the fourth week of December 2025 showed a dramatic coexistence of an 'astronomical money game for AI infrastructure' and a 'restructuring cold snap in traditional industries.' While global big tech companies boldly bet trillions of won to seize the value chain in the competition for AI hegemony, Homeplus, once a symbol of domestic offline retail, made a final desperate move for survival amidst financial difficulties.

■ Trillion-Won Assault by Global Big Tech… Nvidia and SoftBank Sweep 'AI Infrastructure' The undeniable protagonists of the market this week were the global giants expanding their AI infrastructure. They went on an all-around shopping spree, ranging from semiconductors to data centers and AI agents.

• Nvidia: Strengthened its semiconductor alliance by purchasing $5 billion (about 7.2 trillion won) worth of shares, equivalent to a 4% stake in Intel. At the same time, it set out to build a technological moat by effectively absorbing the core assets of the promising AI semiconductor startup Groq.

• SoftBank: Acquired AI infrastructure investment firm DigitalBridge for approximately $4 billion (about 5.738 trillion won), including debt. This is interpreted as Chairman Masayoshi Son's strong determination to preemptively secure hardware infrastructure such as AI data centers and telecommunications networks.

• Meta: Acquired the Singaporean AI agent startup Manus, dubbed the 'next DeepSeek'. Although the specific amount was not disclosed, the company secured competitiveness in the AI assistant market by being recognized with a valuation of over $500 million.

■ Collapse of the Boundary Between Finance and Crypto… Mirae Asset Embraces Korbit to Ignite 'Digital Finance' In the domestic financial sector, a symbolic deal was struck where a traditional financial firm directly acquired a virtual asset exchange.

• Mirae Asset Securities: Unexpectedly acquired Korbit, one of the top four domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, for approximately 140 billion won. This serves as a starting signal for traditional financial companies to enter the digital asset market in earnest, and synergy with new businesses such as STO (Security Token Offerings) is expected in the future.

• NHN KCP: Joined the Soso Bank consortium, which has taken on the challenge of becoming the fourth internet-only bank, as a major shareholder. Through capital investment in the tens of billions of won, it established a bridgehead for its entry into internet banking as a powerhouse in payment and settlement infrastructure.

■ PEFs and Mid-sized Companies Preemptively Secure Lucrative 'K-Beauty & Energy' Deals In the small and medium-sized market, investments were concentrated in the manufacturing sector, which boasts solid cash flows or growth potential.

• Ark & Partners: Completed the acquisition of Changshin, a cosmetics packaging manufacturer with a 37-year history. This is a bet that highly values the growth potential of the packaging industry driven by the global K-beauty craze.

• Seouleaguer: Led by Dr. Hong Sung-bum of the 'Hugel Myth', Seouleaguer acquired an 85.94% stake in aesthetic medical device distributor Moments Company for 81.2 billion won. It is expected to strengthen its medical aesthetic business through synergy with its subsidiary, Cosleaguer.

• Soo & Financial: The acquisition of management rights for the nuclear power and power equipment company G2 Power is highly anticipated. It is analyzed as a strategic investment in step with the booming energy industry.

■ Homeplus Faces Edge-of-the-Cliff 'Restructuring'… A Bleak Winter for the Retail Industry Unlike the booming AI and manufacturing sectors, offline retail has been put in a position of worrying about survival.

• Homeplus: Is pursuing the procurement of 300 billion won in DIP (Debtor-in-Possession) financing to resolve its financial difficulties. The situation is so critical that the labor union has hinted at partially accepting intensive restructuring, such as store sales and workforce reductions, and even the possibility of a split sale for corporate rehabilitation is being discussed.

• Doowon Precision Industry: Doowon Precision Industry, a diesel auto parts manufacturer with a 52-year history, was ultimately declared bankrupt by the court following a failed M&A. This remains a stark example illustrating the crisis in the internal combustion engine auto parts industry.

The M&A market this week clearly showed a phenomenon of 'Capital Flight towards AI and Digital'. While leading companies like Nvidia and Mirae Asset are preemptively securing future growth engines (AI, virtual assets) based on massive cash mobilization capabilities, traditional offline retail and internal combustion engine parts companies that have lost competitiveness are facing a harsh winter of restructuring and bankruptcy. In the upcoming new year, the temperature difference in the M&A market due to this 'polarization across industries' is expected to deepen further.