Dongwon Group is reconsidering acquiring HMM, Korea's largest shipping company, formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine. It has been confirmed that Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-cheol of Dongwon Group recently directly instructed the group's management to review, at a study level, a renewed push to acquire HMM.
According to related industry sources on the 5th, Dongwon Group's relevant personnel have begun a study-level review in preparation for acquiring HMM.
HMM returned to a creditor management regime, including the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC), after last year's sale negotiations, promoted at about 6.4 trillion won with a consortium of Harim and JKL Partners, finally fell through.
During the first sale, Dongwon Group offered an acquisition price of about 6.2 trillion won, but Harim, which bid 200 billion won higher, was selected as the preferred bidder, leaving Dongwon disappointed. However, as the HMM sale talks finally collapsed in Feb. last year, another acquisition battle is expected.
Dongwon Group is said to have internally advanced the formation of an organization to review related materials and discuss acquisition structure and financial simulations.
However, HMM is not officially back on the market as an asset for sale. As the creditors also have not made clear when they will resume the sale, further discussions are needed before the acquisition battle can reignite.
A Dongwon Group official said, "It is true that we are interested in acquiring HMM, but nothing has been decided specifically," adding, "It is not at a level that can be called a TF (task force) at this point; it is at the level of a study group."