An on/off merger between two parts of the Samsung empire looks possible again. Samsung Engineering CEO Park Jung-heum has said he will once again pursue a merger with affiliate Samsung Heavy Industries, which runs one of the world’s largest shipyard.
“Samsung Engineering will seek a merger with Samsung Heavy,” Park said.
Samsung Engineering and Samsung Heavy stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday on speculation that the two companies will again try a merger.
Last year’s merger attempt failed to materialize after they failed to secure sufficient support from shareholders who opted to sell stock back to the companies rather than participate in the all-share deal.
“I think Samsung Heavy needs to obtain engineering, procurement and project management capabilities, which are the strengths of Samsung Engineering. Samsung Engineering will diversify its portfolio into value-added projects by using Samsung Heavy’s offshore plant construction abilities,” Samsung Heavy CEO Park Dae-yong said.
