Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
IMM PE initiates procedures to sell Hanatour
Hanatour headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of Hanatour
By Anna J. Park
Hanatour, the leading company in the travel industry in Korea, officially confirmed earlier this week that its largest shareholder has decided to sell its stake in the tour company.
In its public disclosure posted on Monday, Hanatour stated that it "has been confirmed by Harmonia No. 1 Limited Company, the company's largest shareholder, that it is considering various strategic options, including the sale of its stake over Hanatour."
IMM Private Equity (PE) holds a 16.68 percent stake in Hanatour through Harmonia No. 1 Limited Company, which is a special-purpose company established by the private equity firm.
"Various strategic options, including the sale of the stakes, are being considered amid the recovery of the travel market and the improvement in the company's performance. Citigroup Global Markets has been selected as the lead manager for the sale deal," the statement by Hanatour reads.
The company added that more specific details will be decided in consultations between IMM PE and other major shareholders.
According to the investment banking industry, the total stakes up for sale on the M&A market are said to be around 27 percent. This includes the 16.68 stake held by IMM PE, the 6.53 percent stake owned by Hanatour founder and Chairman Park Sang-hwan, and the 4.48 percent stake held by Vice Chairman Kwon Hee-suk.
Last month, IMM PE sent out a request for proposal (RFP) to securities firms to select a lead manager for the sale deal. While the lead manager was selected, the private equity firm doesn't seem to be in a hurry to proceed with the sale process, given the travel industry's soaring earnings lately.
In the first quarter of this year, Hanatour posted a quarterly revenue of 183.3 billion won ($135 million) with an operating profit of 21.6 billion won, which are whopping year-on-year increases of 121 percent and 286 percent, respectively.