The stock price of SOCAR, listed on the securities market, is weak at the beginning of the trading session on the 17th. This is interpreted as a concern that the public tender offer was not for the purpose of supporting the stock price, as former SOCAR CEO Lee Jae-woong was reportedly granted a stock collateral loan before the public tender offer announcement.
As of 9:42 a.m. on this day, SOCAR is trading at 15,280 won, down 1,470 won (8.78%) from the previous trading day.
On the 14th, before the market opened, SOCAR's largest shareholder, S.O.Q.R., announced a public tender offer worth 3 billion won. S.O.Q.R. is a company whose 100% equity is owned by former CEO Lee and his wife, Hwang Hyun-jeong.
The public tender offer amounts to only up to 0.52% of SOCAR’s equity, but former CEO Lee secured 2.5 billion won from Pureun Mutual Savings Bank at a 6.2% annual interest rate. He also provided 809,171 common shares as collateral. After the announcement of the public tender offer, the stock surged 17.87% on just the 14th.
There are allegations that former CEO Lee attempted to raise the stock price due to concerns about a margin call, requesting additional collateral. S.O.Q.R. received a stock collateral loan worth 35 billion won last year from Jeju Bank, Pureun Mutual Savings Bank, and IBK Capital. It is known that if SOCAR’s stock price falls between 12,000 won and 14,000 won, additional collateral will be requested.
Former CEO Lee said regarding the public tender offer, “Through this public tender offer, we aim to create a responsible management environment and return meaningful investment results to all shareholders through the enhancement of corporate value.”