VENTURE CAPITAL POST

South Korean-based private equity firm Hahn & Co will pay $283 million to buy a 76% stake in Hanjin Shipping Co's bulk carrier business, Bloomberg reported.

Financial data from Mergermarket indicated an increasing influence of local buyout firms in South Korea, thanks largely to the support of the national government by relaxing regulations, a Financial Times report said.

Korean Air, South Korea's flag carrier and largest airline, has put up for sale its shares in refiner S-Oil and 13 planes to raise KRW3.5 trillion. Proceeds from the deal will be used to pare its debt and provide aid to affiliate Hanjin Shipping Co.

LIG Insurance Co. has put up for sale a controlling stake of 20.96% in the South Korean non-life insurer to compensate investors for losses sustained after buying debt issued by its affiliate. It has hired Goldman Sachs Group to advise on the sale.

A South Korean court awarded Apple a legal victory on a patent infringement case filed by Samsung Electronics Co. The decision would enable Apple to continue selling its products in South Korea, Reuters said in its report.

The New York Times said private equity investors of Oriental Brewery in South Korea could stand to gain a 34% annualized return on their original investment of the brewery.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission on Wednesday cleared MBK Partners' $1.75 billion acquisition of ING Groep's Korean insurer. MBK bought 8.2 million shares in ING Life Korea.

Australia-based energy company Ambassador Oil and Gas Ltd has sold its 52.5% stake in South Australia's Cooper Basin, a potential gas field, to New Standard Energy Ltd for USD42.5 million.

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners is set to purchase minority stakes in four commercial property acquisitions in the UK and the US, in a deal with a total value of USD1 billion.

The Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea told Bloomberg it plans to punish the local unit of Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc for breaking rules on the sale of financial products.

According to Speedtest.net, 30 countries including Moldova and Uruguay have faster Internet than the United States. Google Inc. has began building its fiber network in Kansas. A nationwide Google Fiber rollout, however, may cost USD1 billion.

The government of South Korea has increased the offering size for a part of its stake in Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) to USD250 million. Its finance ministry will be selling 23.24 million shares instead of the initial 13.16 million shares.

Following a nuclear deal reached in Geneva, the European Union has removed the ban on insuring tankers transporting Iranian oil. The EU also agreed to release USD4.2 billion in frozen oil assets and permit Iranian crude exports to continue at its current levels.

South Korea was reported to be a possible investor in Britain's nuclear power market after the Asian country hired Lloyd's Register to evaluate its nuclear reactors, according to a director at Lloyd's.

Japan-based Secured Capital, the real estate arm of private equity firm PAG, raised USD1.5 billion to invest in real estate and debt opportunities in Asia.