Questions raised on Hyundai Groups funding plan

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Thu, December 7, 2023 | 16:25

Companies

Questions raised on Hyundai Groups funding plan

Posted : 2010-11-19 16:59

Updated : 2010-11-19 16:59

Insiders vehemently opposed Hyundai Group’s buying of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, as suspicion of the Group’s ability to fund the 5.51-trillion won ($4.9 trillion) acquisition abounded.

Hyun Jeong-eun
Hyundai Group chairwoman

By Cho Jin-seo

Insiders vehemently opposed Hyundai Group’s buying of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, as suspicion of the Group’s ability to fund the 5.51-trillion won ($4.9 trillion) acquisition abounded.

The labor union of Hyundai Securities, a major subsidiary of Hyundai Group, claimed on Friday that the sellers of Hyundai E&C did not properly check the funding plan of the buyer and insisted on cancelling the acquisition process. The securities arm suffered a dramatic drop in its stock price when the Hyundai Group won the expensive competitive bid to buy the construction company this Tuesday.

At the center of the conspiracy theory is the 1.2 trillion won to be contributed by Natixis, a French corporate bank. Hyundai Group has said that Natixis is participating as a financial investor. But the labor union doubts the nature of the funds.

“Hyundai Merchant Marine has only 3.3 billion won of capital in its office in France, so it is not clear how they can have 1.2 trillion won in its account at Natixis,” the union said in a press release. Hyundai Merchant Marine is the main subsidiary of the Group, and it is providing another 1.9 trillion won from debt and equity financing on top of the 1.2 trillion won from Natixis.

There is a rumor in the stock market, the labor union said, that the fund at Natixis is actually an expensive loan from Nexgen Capital, a U.S. investment fund, taken by the Group. If the claim is true, the result of the bidding could have been different, since Hyundai Group very narrowly beat Hyundai Automotive Group by assuming that the interest rate on the Netixis fund would be low.

Hyundai Group immediately dismissed the claim, but the creditors of Hyundai Construction said they would delve into the matter more deeply.

“We are reviewing the nature of the funds and seeking legal advice,” an unnamed official of the creditors’ group was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. The creditors are led by Korea Exchange Bank.

The stock market reacted severely on the news of the bidding review. Shares of several Hyundai Group subsidiaries rose sharply on Friday, with Hyundai Merchant Marine increasing by 6.1 percent. Hyundai E&C also rose by 4.1 percent, as many believe it is better for the firm to have Hyundai Automotive Group as a new owner rather than Hyundai Group.

Hyundai Automotive Group, Hyundai Group and Hyundai E&C are all offspring of the original Hyundai Group, which was founded by Chung Ju-young in 1947. The founder died in 2001, and the group was split into several entities and distributed to his sons.

Many have questioned that the bidding war between Hyundai Group and Hyundai Automotive Group over Hyundai E&C was overheated, that the burden to retain the funding may put serious financial pressure on the winner. But regardless of such financial woes, the Chung family’s offspring were eager to win the bidding, since the construction company has a strong symbolic value in the Hyundai empire’s history, credited as the main growth engine.

현대그룹의 현대건설 인수 자금에 대한 의문점이 제기되면서 그룹 내부에서 반발이 일고 있다.

현대그룹 계열사인 현대증권의 노동조합은 금요일 보도자료를 통해 매각자인 현대건설 채권단이 매수자인 현대그룹의 자금조달방법을 제대로 검토하지 못했다고 주장했다. 현대증권의 주가는 현대그룹의 승리가 발표된 화요일 큰 폭으로 하락한 바 있다.

논란의 중심은 프랑스 은행인 나티시스가 지원하기로 한 1.2조 원이다. 현대그룹은 나티시스가 재무적투자자로 인수에 참여하고 있다고 밝힌 바 있다. 하지만 현대증권 노동조합은 이 자금의 성격에 대해 의문을 제기했다.

노조는 “자산이 33억원에 불과한 현대상선 프랑스법인이 어떻게 1조2000억원을 나티시스은행에 예치한 것인지 밝혀지지 않았다”며 “시장 소문처럼 이 자금이 현대상선 경영권 방어를 위해 현대그룹과 지분계약을 한 넥스젠(Nexgen)캐피탈의 자금이라면 넥스젠캐피탈은 이를 차입해 현대그룹에 다시 대출했을 것”이라고 강조했다.

이 주장이 사실이라면 인수전의 승자가 바뀌었을 수 있다. 현대그룹이 현대자동차그룹을 아슬아슬하게 이긴 배경에는 이 나티시스 측 자금의 이자가 높지 않으리라는 가정이 깔려있었기 때문이다.

현대그룹은 즉각 사실무근이라고 반박하고 나섰지만, 현대건설의 채권단 측은 이 문제를 더 깊이 조사해보겠다고 밝혔다.

cjs@koreatimes.co.kr

cjs@koreatimes.co.kr