This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 6:03 p.m. on Apr. 09, 2026.
Poongsan has temporarily halted the process to sell its ammunition division. Until recently it had been negotiating one-on-one with Hanwha Group on the sale, but it is said to have suddenly pulled the asset from the market. HD Hyundai and LIG Group had no plans to join the bidding, making Hanwha effectively the only suitor, but even that deal fell through due to Poongsan's change of heart.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and the business community on the 9th, Poongsan disclosed that "we are reviewing various options, including restructuring our business portfolio, to enhance corporate value and shareholder value, but there is nothing currently underway regarding the sale of the ammunition business." Hanwha Aerospace said the same day that "the review of acquiring Poongsan's defense division has been halted." The seller and a potential buyer simultaneously made the breakdown in talks official.
According to the IB industry, HD Hyundai Group and LIG Group are not considering acquiring Poongsan. As a result, Poongsan had been in de facto one-on-one talks with Hanwha, but IB industry officials said it abruptly notified Hanwha of the withdrawal of the sale on this day.
On the 3rd, the related industry circulated word that Hanwha Aerospace had taken part in the private tender for the sale of Poongsan's ammunition division and submitted a final bid proposal. Hanwha Group did not officially acknowledge this, but the industry understood that the two sides had been negotiating one-on-one behind the scenes and that the process had advanced to some extent.
Hanwha Group appointed a major domestic law firm to review the feasibility of acquiring Poongsan's ammunition business. Some in the industry said that because Hanwha Aerospace has a platform-centered business structure with the K9 self-propelled howitzer, the Redback armored vehicle, and others, there was little need to spend billions of won to directly own an ammunition manufacturer. Still, Hanwha was said to have kept the possibility of vertical integration in mind.
Within the IB industry, attention is focusing on Poongsan's true intent in unilaterally scrapping the deal. The industry widely believes that if Poongsan were to sell its ammunition business, the core source of revenue, only its copper-processing (fabricated copper) division would remain, leaving corporate value vulnerable to swings in copper prices and likely to decline.