Dongkuk Steel Mill Group is buying back Ferrum Tower from Samsung Life Insurance after 10 years.
Dongkuk Steel Mill held an extraordinary board meeting on the 25th and announced that it had decided to purchase Ferrum Tower, located in Suha-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, Dongkuk Steel Mill signed a real estate sales contract at the Samsung Life Insurance building in Seocho, in the presence of both the buyer and seller. The acquisition amount is 645.06 billion won.
Ferrum Tower is a building that symbolizes Dongkuk Steel Mill Group. Dongkuk Steel Mill Group started its business in 1954 at the Dangsan-dong factory in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and in 1974, it moved its headquarters to the former Cheonggye Elementary School, a three-story building in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul, which it used as its headquarters for 33 years until redevelopment began in 2007. The building that Dongkuk Steel Mill Group completed in August 2010 is Ferrum Tower. The name Ferrum contains the Latin word for iron, "Ferro."
However, Dongkuk Steel Mill Group sold Ferrum Tower in April 2015. This decision was a result of credit rating adjustments due to deteriorating performance amidst a prolonged economic downturn from the mid-2010s, following an agreement for financial restructuring with creditor institutions, including the Korea Development Bank, in 2014. Subsequently, Dongkuk Steel Mill Group implemented a merger with Union Steel, the sale of UIL, and the restructuring of its plate steel business.
Afterwards, Dongkuk Steel Mill Group shifted to a profitability-focused steel business portfolio, including rebar, sections, and color-coated steel sheets. It also continued to reorganize its business, including shutting down its Chinese subsidiary and selling the CSP steel mill in Brazil. As a result, its credit rating improved from a speculative grade (BB+) at the end of 2015 to BBB+ (stable) in 2023. During the same period, the liability ratio improved by 37.8 percentage points, from 136.8% to 99.0%.
Dongkuk Steel Mill Group noted, "The acquisition of Ferrum Tower signifies the end of the business restructuring that Dongkuk Steel Mill Group has pursued for over a decade and the transition to solid growth for a fresh start. Through the acquisition of Ferrum Tower, we will inherit the Dongkuk heritage, which turns crises into opportunities, and focus on solid growth."