MBK Partners has countered claims from Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, that it had attempted to sell Doosan Infracore (currently DN Solutions) to China.
MBK Partners released a statement on the 23rd, noting that "as the global competitiveness of Doosan Infracore significantly increased, inquiries from corporations worldwide continued from 2019, when it was looking to sell, through Bank of America Merrill Lynch (currently BofA), which was the advisor at that time." The statement also added, "At that time, Chinese machinery companies expressed interest to the advisor."
It added, "Through prior consultations with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, we did not engage in specific sale negotiations with Chinese companies, and ultimately, we successfully sold Doosan Infracore to DN Automotive, a strong company located in Gyeongsangnam-do." It explained that sale negotiations were conducted with not only DN Automotive but also two domestic corporations at that time.
Earlier, MBK Partners acquired the machine tool division of Doosan Infracore during the restructuring of the Doosan Group in 2016. By investing in R&D and production facilities and developing new products, it enhanced corporate value while establishing a dealer network in North America and strengthening overseas sales channels, moving from 6th to 3rd in global sales rankings.
In this regard, recently, Choi Yoon-beom's side has claimed that MBK Partners selected a Chinese corporation as the primary target for the sale of Doosan Infracore and engaged in negotiations. Although the negotiations progressed smoothly, it was said that they faced governmental opposition because Doosan Infracore possesses national core technologies like the "design and manufacturing technology of high-precision 5-axis machining centers."
This could be used as a basis for Choi's assertion that even if MBK Partners acquires management rights over Korea Zinc, it could resell to Chinese corporations in the future. The government has accepted Korea Zinc's request and has determined that the precursor technology, a key material for secondary batteries, is classified as a national core technology.
MBK Partners explained that "for the past 20 years, we have been legally engaged in numerous investment activities as a domestic corporation," and that it has "actively responded to national policies and projects such as the listing of national core technologies, export and import permits for strategic goods, national R&D projects, and support for mid-sized enterprises, and is actively entering into prior consultations with the government."
It emphasized, "We will ensure that Korea Zinc can fulfill its pivotal role in the economy of the Republic of Korea as a national key industry," and added, "We have already stated several times that there will be no sale to China."