South Korea Sovereign Fund Nixes Plan To Buy Stake In L.A. Dodgers

Sources familiar with the matter said that South Korea's sovereign wealth fund has "abandoned its plan to buy a stake" in MLB club L.A. Dodgers as part of a broader move to "diversify its investment portfolio," according to YONHAP. The Korea Investment Corp., which "manages assets entrusted by South Korea's central bank, had been in talks to buy" a 19% stake in the Dodgers from U.S.-based investment firm Guggenheim Partners since last year, a deal estimated at 400B won ($361M). According to the office of Justice Party Rep. Park Won-suk and industry sources, the KIC "recently backed down in the wake of a state audit into the investment plan." They noted that the deal includes "sharing profits from admissions and broadcasting rights with Guggenheim Partners and a guarantee for an annual return rate" of more than 3%. KIC has been "seeking to diversify its portfolio, eyeing foreign sports teams" in the Premier League as well as the NBA and NFL (YONHAP, 6/21).