Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Mirae Asset wins lawsuit against Anbang in US
Mirae Asset Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Financial Group
By Lee Min-hyung
By Lee Min-hyung
Mirae Asset Global Investments will be able to get back the $580 million (642 billion won) deposit it paid to Anbang Insurance Group for purchasing 15 luxury hotels in the United States, after winning a high-stakes lawsuit against the Chinese insurer, the Korean company said Tuesday.
Under the ruling from Delaware Chancery Court, Anbang failed to abide by specific terms of the contract it signed with Mirae Asset over the sales of the hotels.
The court said Mirae Asset is eligible to receive the money from Anbang along with other transaction-related expenses worth $3.68 million. Mirae Asset will also be able to receive all the legal costs incurred during the months-long battle against Anbang, according to the ruling.
In September last year, Mirae Asset clinched the mega deal worth $5.8 billion to purchase the 15 luxury hotels Anbang owns in major cities across the U.S. This made headlines as it was the largest-ever overseas alternative investment by a Korean company.
The deal was scheduled to be completed on April 17, but Anbang failed to meet a condition precedent before finalizing the contract.
Mirae Asset sent a default notice to Anbang as per the contract. But with the Chinese insurer failing to respond to the call in 15 days, the Korean investment firm canceled the contract on May 3.
In the meantime, however, Anbang filed a counter lawsuit with the court against Mirae Asset.
But the Delaware court ruled that Mirae Asset's cancellation of the contract was proper in that Anbang failed to meet contractual conditions.
A spokesperson for Anbang was unavailable for comment.
“As this is the ruling from the first trial, chances are Anbang may bring the case to the second trial,” an official from Mirae Asset said. “If Anbang does not take any additional legal actions over the ruling, we will be able to recover the money sometime early next year.”
But Mirae Asset expects chances remain very slim that the latest ruling can be overturned in a second trial.
“Regardless of whether Anbang lodges an appeal, there stands a very minimal chance for the court to overturn the ruling,” the official said.
“We place a top priority on risk management and seek to generate stable profits by holding regulator strategy conferences globally,” the company said in a statement. “We are going to continue providing customers' successful asset management services.”