Han&Company, the largest private equity fund (PEF) management company in Korea and the largest shareholder of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS, has decided to grant its own stock to all employees of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS.
On the 9th, Han&Company announced that it would grant over 1 million won worth of its own stock to all employees of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS. They also decided to fully cover the taxes on the stock grants, amounting to approximately 1.6 billion won.
The board of directors of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS resolved to grant its own stock for free to employees and also to dispose of approximately 9.8 billion won worth of its own stock.
The beneficiaries of the stock grants are all regular employees (1,546 as of the 9th), who will receive 16 shares each equally, regardless of rank or years of service. The value of 16 shares is approximately 1.04 million won based on the previous day's closing price.
Han&Company decided to grant its own stock to reward employees for their dedication in swiftly turning NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS back into the black after breaking free from past "owner risk."
After the controversy surrounding the announcement of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS' "COVID-19 suppression effect of Bulgari," Han&Company signed a stock purchase agreement with former chairman Hong Won-sik in 2021.
However, former chairman Hong did not fulfill the contract due to a simple change of heart, leading to more than two years of legal battles, and last January, the Supreme Court granted final victory, securing management rights.
Having recorded losses for 20 consecutive quarters since the second quarter of 2019, NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS successfully turned a profit in the third quarter of last year, only three quarters after the transition to Han&Company's leadership. It was also reported that they have continued to generate profits since then.
Given that Han&Company became the largest shareholder at the end of January last year and formed a new board of directors at the regular shareholders' meeting at the end of March, they achieved profitability just six months after the new board was established.
Han&Company stated, "This decision was made to share the achievements made by all employees of NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS," adding, "I hope the NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS family continues to enjoy the fruits of growth in the future."
Since acquiring NAMYANG DAIRY PRODUCTS, Han&Company has also been focusing on improving governance. They have established a transparent governance structure by implementing an executive officer system that separates executive and supervisory functions.
Following the acquisition, active shareholder-friendly policies have been implemented, such as activating transactions through a 1 to 10 share partitioning and acquiring and disposing of approximately 60 billion won worth of treasury stock in three tranches.
Meanwhile, the own stock granted to employees is reported to have no restrictions on disposition. Employees can freely decide when and how to dispose of it.