Korea Life Insurance’s $1.6 billion IPO in Seoul suggests the country’s capital markets are becoming more flexible, with international investment banks involved in the domestic tranche and domestic institutions marketing to international investors.
The deal, which closed in March, streamlined the underwriting agreements of previous Korean insurance IPOs (such as Tong Yang) so that international investment banks could underwrite the domestic tranche through their Korean branches and Korean underwriters could sell to international investors.
Eugene Gregor of Davis Polk advised the...