Hanwha heir tightens grip through Ourhome takeover

Ourhome headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts said Thursday it has completed the acquisition of a controlling 58.62 percent stake in food catering firm Ourhome for 869.5 billion won ($620 million).

The hotel operator's successful takeover of Korea's second-largest meal service provider is expected to bring Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Vice President Kim Dong-seon — the youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn — closer to inheriting the retail business of the nation's seventh-largest business group.

The deal is widely described as a case of a minnow swallowing a whale, as Ourhome posted 2.2 trillion won in annual revenue last year, nearly three times more than Hanwha Hotels & Resorts’ 750.9 billion won. Ourhome workforce is also nearly three times larger than that of its new owner.

Before the latest announcement, there had been skepticism the deal could fall through due to opposition from some members of the Ourhome founding family, who collectively held a 40.27 percent stake in the catering firm. There were also market doubts about how the acquisition would be financed.

Though the former owner family had publicly voiced opposition to Hanwha’s takeover bid, they ultimately remained silent and took no legal action to block the deal.

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, center, and Dong-seon, fifth from right, the chairman's third and youngest son, applaud with employees of Hanwha Robotics at the company's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, April 5, 2024. Courtesy of Hanwha Group

Hanwha credited the success of the deal to the vice president, saying he had led negotiations since last October. Just days before the deal was finalized, he deactivated his Instagram account with over 7,000 followers, a move widely seen as a gesture to focus on business.

The buyer said it received approvals from antitrust regulators in and outside of Korea last month, following the signing of a share purchase agreement with the seller in February.

As the transaction payment completed this month, Ourhome has officially become a subsidiary of Hanwha Group.

Hanwha previously operated a catering company named Foodist for nearly 30 years until it exited the business in 2020. Hanwha Foodtech, which spun off from Hanwha Hotels & Resorts in 2021, sells food and beverages.

"With Ourhome dominating the food catering and ingredient distribution sectors, we will change the landscape of domestic and global food markets," a Hanwha Hotels & Resorts official said.

Industry officials expect Ourhome and Hanwha's other retail units to expand cooperation with the group's construction, robotics and machinery affiliates — all under the oversight of the chairman's youngest son.

His two older brothers — Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and Hanwha Life Insurance President Kim Dong-won — are responsible for leading the group's defense and energy businesses and managing its financial affiliates, respectively.

Last month, Hanwha Energy, which is under the joint control of the three sons, became the largest shareholder of Hanwha Corp., the group's de facto holding company, as the chairman transferred half his shares to the sons.