Hoban Group has additionally acquired equity in Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, raising its ownership stake to the 18% range. Though Hoban Group, the second-largest shareholder of Hanjin KAL, stated that the purpose of the stock purchase is merely investment, interest is growing regarding the possibility that it may engage in management participation in Hanjin KAL.
Hoban Construction, a subsidiary of Hoban Group, announced on the 12th that its equity in Hanjin KAL increased from 17.44% (11,645,800 shares) to 18.46% (12,321,774 shares) through additional stock acquisitions.
According to the large shareholder report submitted by Hoban Construction, its subsidiary, Hoban, increased its equity in Hanjin KAL to 0.15% (99,000 shares) by purchasing an additional 34,000 shares in two transactions last March. From March of last year to April of this year, Hoban Hotel & Resort acquired 640,974 additional shares, raising its equity in Hanjin KAL to 6.81% (4,545,947 shares). Currently, Hoban Construction holds an 11.50% (7,676,827 shares) stake in Hanjin KAL.
Hanjin KAL is the parent company of Korean Air. As of the 22nd of last month, the largest shareholder, Chairman Cho Won-tae, and related parties hold 30.54% of Hanjin KAL's equity. Among this, 10.58% (7,062,146 shares) is held by the Korea Development Bank, which has a co-ownership agreement with Hanjin KAL. Delta Air Lines, a friendly shareholder of Hanjin KAL, also holds 14.90% of the equity.
Hoban Group has been increasing its equity in Hanjin KAL by acquiring shares from the private equity fund KCGI, which sparked a management dispute over Hanjin KAL in 2022. Hoban Construction voted against the proposal to approve the director remuneration limit at the Hanjin KAL annual general meeting held last March.