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Goldman Pulls Out of South Korea's Largest IPO

Published: Tuesday, 10 Nov 2009 | 10:55 PM ET

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Goldman Sachs has pulled out of a mandate to handle what would be South Korea's largest IPO since 2006, worth an estimated $2 billion, with Credit Suisse picked to replace the U.S. investment bank.

Korea Life Insurance, the country's No. 2 life insurer, said on Wednesday that Goldman had dropped out of its IPO process, citing unspecified internal matters.

Last week, Korea Life picked six banks, including Goldman, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, and three domestic securities houses to manage the IPO, expected to take place in 2010.

Both Goldman and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Debates over mandates for IPOs and rights offerings have surfaced in South Korea this year, as a stock market recovery emboldens companies to push ahead with delayed offering plans.

In June, KB Financial Group, the parent company of top South Korean bank Kookmin, switched the foreign underwriters for its $900 million rights offering following a disagreement over fees, banking sources said.

Korea Life joins a rash of planned insurance offerings in Asia as the industry seeks to expand and rising stock markets lift earnings for life insurers, for which investment returns are a key source of income.

The Asia insurance IPO list includes AIG's AIA, Shanghai-traded China Pacific Insurance, which aims to raise $3.5 billion in Hong Kong, Reliance Life in India and Japan's Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance.