In its 40th year of existence Hyundai Merchant Marine will sever ties with Hyundai Group on August 5 and belong to state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) as part of its mammoth restructuring. At that point KDB will change senior management at the line, and may possibly appoint HMM’s first foreign CEO, local media report, citing sources at the bank.
KDB and other creditors of HMM will swap loans for stocks on August 5 giving the creditors a near 40% holding in South Korea’s second largest shipping line. Hyundai Group’s holding will shrink to just 0.5% on that day.
The history of HMM has been a tumultuous marked by bailouts, family feuds and a number of very close bankruptcies.
Founded in 1976 as Asia Merchant Marine, it started with three tankers built by then sister firm Hyundai Heavy Industries which had been rejected by the original buyers. The company merged with Shinhan Merchant Marine. A previous owner of the company leapt to his death in 2003 from the firm’s Seoul HQ as it fought off another dire financial moment.
KDB is desperate to make HMM’s future less traumatic with a foreign ceo appointment, possibly from one of HMM’s new alliance partners, seen as a way of changing management culture. HMM has just signed on to join 2M, the Maersk/MSC alliance from next April.
