This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 9:28 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2026.
As the KOSPI-listed Daeho AL(069460), which is undergoing delisting procedures, is pushing ahead with an open sale of its management control, it has been confirmed that potential buyers showing interest have begun making contact. Under the management improvement plan, a change of control must come first to keep Daeho AL listed.
However, concerns are being raised that the prolonged control dispute between the largest shareholder and minority shareholders could pose a risk to the sale. As minority shareholders have come together to begin full-fledged shareholder activism, the outcome of the extraordinary shareholders meeting on the 24th is expected to determine the direction of the control dispute going forward. Some minority shareholders have joined hands with another force, a hedge fund, and have recently become the company's largest shareholder.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 13th, about five potential buyers are said to be interested in acquiring management control of Daeho AL. This sale of control is being conducted through a limited competitive bidding process, and the transfer of control will be carried out via a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase.
Daeho AL did not receive an opinion in last year's audit report, and as embezzlement and breach of trust allegations arose early this year, delisting procedures are underway. Recently, the Korea Exchange (KRX) held a substantive review of listing eligibility for Daeho AL and decided to delist it, but the process has been halted again after the company filed for an injunction to suspend the effect of the delisting decision.
To maintain its listing, Daeho AL submitted a management improvement plan to the Korea Exchange (KRX) and is pushing ahead with a sale of control. On July 16, it selected Deloitte Anjin as the sell-side advisor and is seeking potential buyers through a limited competitive bidding process.
The industry initially expected that selling Daeho AL's control would not be easy. Given the possibility of delisting and the control dispute, it is not an easy structure for a party to readily acquire control. If things go wrong, even if chosen as a preferred bidder, it could lose control.
However, as some potential buyers have shown interest, the prospects for selling Daeho AL have turned green. There are several steps left before it can lead to an actual acquisition, but the mere existence of interested parties is a positive sign. Aluminum processing, Daeho AL's main business, is known to have high entry barriers because it requires large-scale facility investment and delivery track records. Separate from the embezzlement and breach of trust allegations, the business itself is still seen as attractive by the industry.
An industry official said, "About five potential buyers are said to be interested in acquiring Daeho AL."
However, the fact that a control dispute is underway is a significant variable that cannot be ignored. Daeho AL is facing conflicts among an alliance of minority shareholders, hedge fund manager J&J Asset Management, which holds a small equity stake, and the current largest shareholder. The minority shareholders' alliance and J&J Asset Management had each separately asked Daeho AL to put to a vote their own nominees for director positions. However, they have recently formed an investment partnership and begun acting in concert.
Without consulting the minority shareholders and J&J Asset Management, Daeho AL convened an extraordinary shareholders meeting, deepening the conflict. On the 24th, Daeho AL plans to hold the meeting to address agenda items to dismiss the current management and appoint new executives. BizAlpha, the current largest shareholder, is preparing to implement a management improvement plan by preemptively changing the management before the change of largest shareholder through a sale of control.
The meeting will also separately address proposals to appoint individuals nominated by some minority shareholders. However, those individuals are said not to be nominees recommended by the existing minority shareholders' alliance or J&J Asset Management, which have been in a control dispute.
The fact that some minority shareholders and a hedge fund have joined forces is expected to affect where Daeho AL's control will go and, furthermore, the sale. The Daeho AL Reform No. 1 Partnership (shareholders' partnership), co-led by figures from the shareholders' alliance and J&J Asset Management, recently secured 10.33% equity in Daeho AL, becoming the largest shareholder on a single-shareholder basis. The equity held by BizAlpha, the previous largest shareholder, is only 8.97%.
A representative of the shareholders' alliance said, "The shareholders' partnership and the alliance are communicating with a shared goal of normalizing Daeho AL's management," and added, "We are preparing response measures to the shareholders meeting that the company suddenly released."