MBK Offers to Buy C&M for $3.2 Billion in Korea's Biggest LBO, Bankers Say

(Bloomberg) -- MBK Partners Ltd., the South Korean
private equity group founded by former Carlyle Group executives,
offered 3 trillion won ($3.2 billion) for cable-TV operator C&M,
said two bankers who were asked to provide financing.

The Seoul-based buyout company wants to borrow as much as 2
trillion won to pay for closely held C&M, South Korea's second-
biggest cable-TV operator, said the bankers, who declined to be
identified because the bid hasn't been disclosed. The purchase
would include New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s 30.5
percent stake, they said.


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South Korean Stocks Advance After Rate Increase; Posco Rises to Record

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks advanced after
the Bank of Korea raised interest rates, reinforcing confidence
in the nation's economic recovery. Shinhan Financial Group Ltd.
led the climb.

Samsung Electronics Co. extended gains after the central
bank raised its benchmark interest for the first time in almost a
year to 4.75 percent. The Bank of Korea and the government had
raised their forecasts for this year's economic expansion earlier
this week.


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South Korea to Deliver Oil to North Korea Under Nuclear Dismantling Accord

(Bloomberg) -- The South Korean government agreed
to begin the delivery of 50,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil to
North Korea within two weeks, as part of a nuclear dismantling
agreement, the South's Unification Ministry said.

The agreement came late yesterday, after two-days of
discussions with North Korean officials in the North's city of
Gaeseong, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement. South
Korea will deliver the oil via a sea route and complete it
within 20 days of the first ship's departure.


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Asia stocks firm, Nikkei stars as yen softens

(Reuters) - Crude oil futures were a touch firmer in early Asian trade after U.S. oil topped $70 a barrel for the first time in nearly 10 months the previous session, while gold was steady above $647 an ounce, helped in part by firmer oil prices.




South Korean stocks edged higher, but Australian shares drifted on profit-taking in big banks, offsetting gains in resource firms. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.2 percent.


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South Korea Stocks Drop, Snapping Record of 15 Weekly Advances; Banks Fall

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell, rounding
off their first losing week since March. Korea Exchange Bank slid
after controlling shareholder Lone Star Funds sold a 13.6 percent
stake, heightening uncertainty about the sale of the lender.

Kookmin Bank, which had planned to buy Korea Exchange before
Lone Star shelved the deal last year, also slid.


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Lone Star to sell S.Korea Kukdong Eng for $712 mln

(Reuters) - The deal is the second divestment of South Korean assets held
by Lone Star on Friday, following the $1.28 billion sale of a
13.6 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank in an
overnight block trade.





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South Korea, U.S. review sweeping trade deal

(Reuters) - The pact -- the biggest U.S. trade deal in 15 years -- was reached in April. But U.S. Congressional Democrats reached a deal with the White House in May that paved the way for approval of the Republican Bush administration's free trade deals if enforceable labor and environmental provisions were added.




South Korean officials say they anticipate there will be no major changes and expect the pact will be signed on June 30 as scheduled.


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South Korea's Kospi Index Falls for a Second Day; Doosan Heavy Declines

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell for a second
day, extending the Kospi index's retreat from a record. Doosan
Heavy Industries & Construction Co. tumbled by the most in more
than three years after Goldman, Sachs & Co. said investors should
``sell'' because of ``rich'' valuations.

``The Goldman Sachs report was the trigger today for Doosan
Heavy,'' said Cho Joon Hyuk, who helps manage $750 million at
Nonghyup CA Asset Management in Seoul. ``There's no problem with
the company's earnings but valuations look a bit high now.''


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Allianz Sells Stake in Korean Insurance Venture to Partner Hana Financial

(Bloomberg) -- Allianz SE, Europe's biggest insurer,
sold all its shares of a venture to South Korean partner Hana
Financial Group Inc.

Hana Financial's banking unit signed an agreement to acquire
the remaining 50 percent stake it doesn't own in Hana Life
Insurance Co. from Allianz, Seoul-based Hana Financial said in an
e-mailed statement yesterday, without providing financial terms
or other details. Hana bought the shares to strengthen its life
insurance business, spokesman Lee Jeong Dae said.


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