HDC shares climb after Asiana deal collapses

Asiana Airlines / Yonhap

Shares in HDC Hyundai Development Co. climbed after its planned acquisition of debt-ridden Asiana Airlines Inc. fell through last week amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 10 a.m., HDC shares rose 1.2 percent to 25,050 won, outperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.9 percent gain, as it was relieved of the financial burden of taking over the carrier.

But Asiana shares fell 1.5 percent to 4,005 won, as it faces restructuring under its creditor banks. Asiana's parent Kumho Industrial Co. rose 2.2 percent to 6,890 won.

"HDC shareholders appear to be relieved from concerns of the winner's curse," Roh Dong-kil, an analyst at NH Investment Securities Co., said.

Kumho Industrial, which owns a controlling 30.77 percent stake in Asiana, on Friday notified HDC of the termination of the drawn-out deal after they failed to narrow differences over the terms of the 2.5 trillion won (US$2.2 billion) deal.

With the collapse of the deal, Asiana will be placed under the control of its creditor banks and undergo restructuring before it is put up for sale again, according to its main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB).

A state-run key industry fund will inject 2.4 trillion won into the carrier to help it stay afloat this year amid virus woes, the KDB said.

Asiana has suspended most of its flights on international routes since March, dealing a further blow to its bottom line.

Its net losses deepened to 432.88 billion won in the January-June period from 267.4 billion won a year earlier. Its overall debts reached 11.55 trillion won at the end of June. (Yonhap)