The Firm recently represented Korea Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (“KLI”) and its selling shareholders in connection with KLI's initial public offering in Korea of 217,130,000 common shares with an offering size of approximately $1.6 billion. The shares of KLI are listed on the KRX KOSPI Market of the Korea Exchange and were offered to investors outside Korea in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S. This offering was the largest IPO ever listed on the Korea Exchange only and the second largest among all IPOs in Korea, including dual-listed IPOs.
KLI, the oldest and second largest life insurer in Korea based on its gross premium and asset size, is a member company of the Hanwha Group, a conglomerate in Korea.
The international offering was led by J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank and the domestic side was led by Daewoo Securities, Woori Investment & Securities and Tong Yang Securities.
The Simpson Thacher team for the transaction included Youngjin Sohn, Kristina Kang, Soo K. Chung and Sarah Park (Corporate) in Hong Kong, Seojung Park (Tax) and Jeanne M. Annarumma (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits) in New York.