The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    INTERVIEWKorean adoptee in Germany reunites with birth family after 42 years

  • 3

    Korea to start mass production of KF-21 in 2024

  • 5

    Will exempting foreign nannies from minimum wage boost Korea's birth rate?

  • 7

    Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'

  • 9

    Daughter of North Korean dictator seen wearing $1,900 Dior jacket

  • 11

    Will Apple Pay launch boost local iPhone sales?

  • 13

    INTERVIEW'Welcome to world of art therapy'

  • 15

    Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series

  • 17

    Indonesian students advise Korean bank on entering Indonesian market

  • 19

    Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years

  • 2

    Zebra captured after escaping from Seoul zoo

  • 4

    Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape

  • 6

    Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him

  • 8

    Sandstorm from China forecast to push up fine dust levels in Korea

  • 10

    Retailers rush to adopt Apple Pay system

  • 12

    Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour

  • 14

    INTERVIEWExpert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

  • 16

    INTERVIEWForbes-listed entrepreneur pursues partnerships with Samsung, LG, SK to help Ukraine

  • 18

    US Fed lifts key interest rate amid banking sector fears

  • 20

    Samsung, SK chiefs prepare for trips to China amid intensifying 'chip war'

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Sat, March 25, 2023 | 09:43
Business
Kumho Chairman faces uphill battle in taking holding firm back
Posted : 2015-04-16 16:09
Updated : 2015-04-16 21:47
Lee Hyo-sik
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Lee Hyo-sik

Park Sam-koo, Kumho Asiana chairmanKim Sang-yeol, Hoban Construction chairman
Park Sam-koo, Kumho
Asiana chairman
Park Sam-koo, Kumho Asiana chairmanKim Sang-yeol, Hoban Construction chairman
Kim Sang-yeol, Hoban
Construction chairman
Things have turned increasingly unfavorable lately for Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo, who has been working hard to take back control of the group's holding firm, Kumho Industrial.

Chances were high that Park would likely acquire the troubled builder as he has vowed to buy back a 57.6 percent stake from creditors at any cost.

However, Hoban Construction, which owns 4.95 percent of Kumho Industrial, has made his plan more difficult to achieve because the builder, based in the southwestern Jeolla Province, is willing to pay nearly 1 trillion won ($910 million) for the 57.6 percent stake, much more than the firm's market value of about 810 billion won.

Hoban has become more assertive toward the takeover of Kumho Industrial because whoever owns Kumho Industrial can control Asiana Airlines, thanks to the fact the firm has a 30.1 percent stake in Korea's second-largest flagship carrier, according to industry analysts.

In addition, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors are also increasingly unhappy with Chairman Park as he has reportedly been exerting his influence across business circles to lower the value of Kumho Industrial so he can buy back the shares for less money.

Some minority shareholders of Kumho Industrial have filed suit against Park and group executives claiming they manipulated company stock prices to lower the builder's market value so the chairman needs to raise less money.

Park has also been dogged by questions over whether he will be able to secure enough cash to purchase Kumho Industrial, which could cost up to 1 trillion won, including a premium for management rights. Park has a 9.14 percent stake in the company.

Hoban willing to pay 1 trillion won

Creditors plan to hold a final bid on April 28 to select a preferred bidder for Kumho Industrial. Hoban, MBK Partners and three other private equity firms submitted preliminary bids in February.

When the highest bidder is announced, creditors are required to first negotiate with Chairman Park, asking whether he will purchase the shares at the highest bidding price. If he refuses, creditors can then sell their stakes to the highest bidder.

Hoban is widely expected to be the highest bidder, given its chairman's strong will to acquire the troubled builder.

On March 25, Hoban Chairman Kim Sang-yeol told reporters that his company has enough cash to acquire Kumho Industrial. Kim then said he is willing to pay as much as 1 trillion won.

"We completed due diligence on Kumho Industrial last week," a Hoban Construction spokesman said. "We will submit a bid on April 28 to become preferred bidder. It is not a good idea to comment on what we are going to do next because we compete with other bidders."

On top of the Hoban factor, Park is increasingly viewed unfavorably by creditors as he and his associates have moved to lower the value of Kumho Industrial in a bid to make it less costly for the group to buy shares from creditors.

On Tuesday, a minority shareholder surnamed Kang filed a suit with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against Park and 20 executives for causing financial losses to him and other shareholders. Kang accused group executives of insider trading and stock manipulation.

Earlier, 20 Kumho executives disposed of their combined total of 75,000 shares, which critics argue was designed to reduce the value of Kumho Industrial before the April 28 bid. The value of listed firms is normally measured on stock prices.

KDB and other creditors are expressing displeasure toward Chairman Park, warning him not to engage in any act to disturb the planned final bid.

They said if Park and his associates were found to have disrupted the sales process, they would take away Park's stake purchase rights. Creditors also agreed not to allow the chairman to borrow excessive amounts of money to acquire the shares.

"Park and group executives have never been involved in unfair acts," a Kumho Asiana Group spokesman said. "As we have said before, we will definitely buy back the shares. We cannot disclose how we are going to raise the money. But we will have no problem securing funds."

In December, Kumho Industrial, along with its affiliate Kumho Tire, graduated from a five-year-long, creditor-managed workout program. The two had to subject themselves to the workout scheme under snowballing debt amid the sluggish real estate market following the 2008 global financial crisis.

KDB and other banks that had extended credit to Kumho Asiana Group units converted their debt into equity.

Kumho Asiana Group suffered a severe liquidity crisis in 2009 after it borrowed an excessive amount of money to acquire Daewoo E&C and Korea Express.

Emailleehs@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escapeZoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape
2Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week
3North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
4Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate
5Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president
6More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism
7What's next for Do Kwon? What's next for Do Kwon?
8FTC criticized for delaying approval for Hanwha's acquisition of DSME FTC criticized for delaying approval for Hanwha's acquisition of DSME
9Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiationsSamsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations
10Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him
2Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol' Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'
3Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour
4Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series
5Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group