[Deal Tracker] 1,207 Deals Worth 32 Trillion Won; Half the Money Was Moved by 49 Deals

Out of 1,207 investments disclosed on DART over the past two years, 49 deals worth 100 billion won or more accounted for 15.672 trillion won, which is half of the total 32.1817 trillion won. The top transactions by amount were major corporate realignments and global PE deals, such as Hanwha's acquisition of Ourhome, Amorepacific's acquisition of COSRX, and Apollo Korea's buyout of Osstem. CBs (Convertible Bonds) and BWs (Bonds with Warrants), which made up 74% of the total number of deals, lagged behind these in terms of amount. Looking only at the figure of 1,207 deals, it appears to be an active market, but it was just 49 of them that created the actual scale.

Six Major Conglomerates Filled the Top Ranks by Amount, and Apollo Was the Only PE

Direct investments amounted to 309 deals worth 16.8795 trillion won. Direct investment refers to transactions involving the direct purchase of a company's shares, which includes management buyouts and strategic investments. The top ranks were dominated by the business realignments of major conglomerates. Representative examples include Hanwha's acquisition of Ourhome for 869.5 billion won, Amorepacific's acquisition of COSRX for 755.1 billion won, and SK E&S's acquisition of a stake in City Gas Busan for 746 billion won. Although the industries differ—food, beauty, and energy—all are transactions that expanded or rearranged existing businesses at the group level.

The exception is Apollo Korea. Over two years, the global private equity firm Apollo executed 3 deals totaling 3.601 trillion won in the holding company of Osstem Implant. This is the largest amount by a single investor and a trillion-won-scale PE buyout rarely seen in domestic disclosures. While strategic investments by major conglomerates form the basic structure of the top ranks, Apollo was the only transaction of a different nature among them.

Money Spent Buying Stakes Decreased, While Money Borrowed Through CBs Increased

There were 898 CB and BW deals, accounting for 74.4% of the total. This is nearly three times the 309 direct investment deals. CBs (Convertible Bonds) are bonds but come with an option to convert them into stocks later. Companies can secure funds without selling their stakes immediately, and investors can leave open the possibility of stock price appreciation while their principal is guaranteed. In an environment where neither side is confident about the equity price, CBs become the most realistic means of procurement.

By amount, direct investments (16.8795 trillion won) are larger than mezzanine financing (15.3023 trillion won). However, this is due to a few mega deals, such as Apollo's 3.6 trillion won. Large-cap companies also raised funds through CBs, including SK Innovation (600 billion won), Korea Aerospace Industries (500 billion won), HYBE (400 billion won), and Asiana Airlines (475 billion won across 2 deals). Mezzanine financing is no longer just a tool for small and medium-sized enterprises; it is establishing itself as an alternative route to direct investment even in large transactions.

Excluding Apollo's 3.3 Trillion, the 2025 Amount Is the Same as the Previous Year

From 2024 to 2025, the number of deals increased by 8% from 517 to 558. During the same period, the amount increased by 28% from 12.7062 trillion won to 16.2962 trillion won. This means the transaction size grew much faster than the number of transactions.

However, if Apollo Korea's 3.321 trillion won is excluded, the 2025 amount becomes 12.9752 trillion won, which is almost identical to the previous year (12.7062 trillion won). The entire market did not become more active; rather, it is a structure where the presence or absence of a single mega deal dictates the annual total. The same pattern continues in the first quarter of 2026 (132 deals, 3.1793 trillion won).

The reason the 2025 amount jumped 28% is not because the market grew, but because of the single Apollo deal. Excluding that one deal, 2025 remains a 12 trillion won market just like the previous year. Where the next landscape-changing mega deal emerges will determine the size of this market in 2026.

Amounts and ratios are based on the Flow Tracer DB, and represent the sum of disclosed amounts for direct investments, convertible bonds, and bonds with warrants.

This article was written based on Flow Tracer, created by News Epoch to track capital flows in the Korean VC/PE market.