이 기사는 2021년 03월 31일 08시09분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Hoban E&C has agreed to acquire a controlling 40% stake in Taihan Electric Wire, the second largest cable manufacturer in South Korea, from IMM Private Equity (IMM PE) in a cash deal worth 251.8 billion won ($222.2 million), the civil engineering company said in a filing on Monday.

IMM PE had remained open for foreign potential buyers for some time after receiving binding offers from strategic investors at home including Hoban and apparel maker Global Sae-A in February, although there had reportedly been no serious interest from abroad.

A group of creditors led by Hana Bank also own 14.03% of Taihan Electric Wire. They are set to decide soon whether to participate in the sale by exercising their tag-along rights. If the 14.03% stake is included in the sale, the total acquisition cost would increase to about 400 billion won.

The Seoul-based private equity firm has been selling down its stake in the cable maker from some 75% to 40% through block trades over the last two years in order to sweeten the deal, because less than 50% of the company would be good enough to control Kospi-listed Taihan Electric Wire. Creditors also took part in IMM PE’s latest block sale to reduce their combined stake from 17% to 14.03%.

Taihan Electric Wire is one of a few companies in the world that can build submarine cable infrastructure. The company’s revenue is expected to continue to grow in the future as its submarine cable technology is expected to benefit from the rise of renewable energy such as offshore wind.

Hoban E&C said in the filing that the purpose of the acquisition was to diversify its business. (Reporting by Si-eun Park and Min-kyu Sin)