SM Group eyes takeover of Korea Ship Finance
South Korea’s Samra Midas (SM) Group is looking to take control of Korea Ship Finance through acquiring major stakes in the company from two financial troubled domestic shipbuilders.
SM Group has participated in the bidding for DSME’s 35.29% stake of Korea Ship Finance, and it also plans to acquire STX Offshore & Shipbuilding’s 27.06% stake in the firm.
Cash-trapped DSME announced earlier plans to sell its entire stake in Korea Ship Finance for about KRW4.5bn ($3.96m) to secure liquidity.
Korea Ship Finance is a state-backed ship financing firm. The major shareholders of the company include DSME, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, Korea Development Bank (14.12%), Suhyup Bank (8.24%), and Korea Investment (8.24%).
SM Group has been taking over a series of financially troubled shipping companies. It now owns dry bulk outfit Korea Line Corp as well as startup container line SM Line and the rump of the STX empire.
In March, Woo Oh-heun, chairman of SM Group, said the group is looking to acquire more shipping assets to further expand its business.