U.S.-based private equity fund (PEF) manager TPG is pursuing an acquisition of K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (formerly STX Offshore & Shipbuilding). Taekwang Industrial has decided to join the effort.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 13th, TPG submitted a preliminary letter of intent (LOI) to K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. the previous day. The assets for sale include 99.58% of K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. equity and corporate bonds held by the UAMCO-KHI consortium. The hoped-for sale price is said to be about 500 billion won.
Taekwang Industrial has also joined TPG's side as an ally. A Taekwang Group official said, "We are not taking over management control; rather, our role is closer to that of a financial investor (FI)."
K Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. is a shipbuilder that competes with HD Hyundai Mipo in the tanker market and with HD Hyundai Samho in the mid- to large-sized crude oil carrier market. Its predecessor was STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. It is among the corporations expected to directly benefit from the U.S.-Korea shipbuilding cooperation project, the "MASGA" project.
Taekwang Group has been putting its name on a series of large M&A deals. After acquiring management control of Aekyung Industrial, it jumped into the main bidding for IGIS Asset Management.