Citi secures the award for Korea’s best investment bank in recognition of its comprehensive range of activity across M&A advisory, debt capital markets and equity capital markets.
AfE 2024
In 2023, Citi dominated the Korean M&A market, advising on four transactions, three of which had a deal value exceeding $2 billion. The bank’s most notable deal was the merger of biosimilar company Celltrion and its distributor Celltrion Healthcare, the largest M&A transaction in Korea and the third-largest in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023. Citi acted as a co-adviser and supported the Celltrion group in highlighting the upsides to investors through active investor relations activities and roadshows in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US, resulting in a minimized buy-back volume for dissenting shareholders’ stakes.
Citi also demonstrated its prowess in the $400 million sale of a 45% stake in ISC, a Korean global leader in silicone rubber sockets for semiconductor testing, to SKC, capitalizing on the favourable industry outlook and ISC’s robust market standing.
Citi also served as the exclusive financial adviser to Medit, a leading global digital dentistry solutions provider, in its $2.0 billion sale to MBK Partners, marking the largest-ever medtech M&A deal in Asia (ex-Japan). Citi’s targeted approach and comprehensive due diligence facilitation enabled a successful transaction for all parties involved.
In the equity capital markets, Citi acted as sole or joint bookrunner in numerous transactions. Notable deals include the $465 million block trade of Coupang, the $403 million block trade of HYBE, and LG Chem’s $2.0 billion exchangeable bond offering.