LS Group said on the 26th it will withdraw the listing application for Essex Solutions, a great-grandchild company of (주)LS. LS Group had requested a preliminary review from the Korea Exchange (KRX) for Essex Solutions' listing.
It appears the decision to withdraw the listing came after reports that on the 22nd President Lee Jae-myung pointed to LS during a luncheon with Democratic Party of Korea KOSPI 5000 Special Committee Commissioners and, noting "there are still such cases," raised the issue of duplicate listings.
An LS official said, "We made this decision after listening to concerns from minority shareholders and investors, among other internal and external stakeholders, about pushing ahead with the listing, and to enhance shareholder protection and trust," adding, "LS also decided to reexamine new investment options with the financial investors (FI) who participated in Essex Solutions' pre-initial public offering (IPO)."
Essex Solutions is a company carved out solely from the special winding (insulated copper wire) business for electric vehicle motors and transformers of the U.S. wire maker Superior Essex, which LS acquired in 2008. In the process, LS delisted Superior Essex from Nasdaq and made it a 100% subsidiary.
However, as orders surged for special winding—a key material for EV motors and transformers—LS judged it was the right time to invest, planned to raise 500 billion won through an Essex Solutions listing, and increase facility investment in the United States.
Despite shareholder opposition sparked by duplicate listings, LS held a first corporate briefing in Nov. last year. LS also recently floated an alternative to allocate Essex Solutions' listing shares separately to LS shareholders, in addition to the general public offering. LS was set to hold a second corporate briefing at the end of this month but ultimately decided to withdraw the listing.
Along with the withdrawal of the Essex Solutions listing application, LS also announced a plan to cancel treasury shares. LS said, "We canceled 500,000 treasury shares in Aug. last year and plan to cancel an additional 500,000 shares as a second round in Feb. this year," adding, "considering LS's recent share price, the total is around 200 billion won."
It will also raise dividends. LS said that through a board resolution in Feb., it will sharply raise shareholder dividends by more than 40% from a year earlier and, at the same time, expand the price-to-book ratio (PBR), which reflects the value per share, by more than twofold by 2030, as it moves to practically protect and return value to shareholders.
LS said, "We plan to reflect shareholders' voices in corporate policy through active communication with shareholders, institutions, analysts, and the media, including announcing additional mid- to long-term value-up policies going forward."