HD Hyundai, which heads South Korea’s largest shipbuilding group, has sold all its shares in
compatriot flagship carrier HMM, dispelling any notions that it could acquire the company.
HD Hyundai said in a Korea Exchange filing on 22 August that its subsidiaries, HD Korea
Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and HD Hyundai Samho, sold a total of more than 4.87 million HMM shares for KRW94 billion (US$71 million).
The shares were initially acquired in 2006, when HMM, then known as Hyundai Merchant
Marine and HD Hyundai’s shipyards were offshoots of the Hyundai chaebol. The shipyards
then obtained a 26.7% stake in HMM, causing a dispute between HMM’s former chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and her brother-in-law, Chung Mong-joon, who heads HD
Hyundai.
The shipbuilding business explained that the stake purchase was to prevent outsiders from
taking over HMM.
In 2016, after a debt-for-equity swap with state-controlled policy lender Korea Development Bank, HMM came under the state’s control. After the COVID-19-induced boom improved HMM’s financial health, the government embarked on an unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer for the company.
After an effort to sell HMM to Harim Group failed early this year, there was speculation that
HD Hyundai could emerge as a buyer. However, the disposal of HD Hyundai’s interest in
HMM has killed off that speculation. HD Hyundai stated in its filing that it sold its HMM shares to improve its financial health.
