Court accepts Hahn & Co’s request to block Hong family’s share sale Wednesday’s ruling likely to impact main case against Namyang Dairy chairman
Translated by Ryu Ho-joung 공개 2022-01-28 08:10:48
이 기사는 2022년 01월 28일 08:08 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
A South Korean court has sided with Hahn & Company in a recent ruling that is likely to enable the Seoul-based private equity firm to gain the upper hand in the legal fight with Hong Won-sik, owner and chairman of Namyang Dairy Products.On Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court accepted Hahn & Co’s request to block the sale of shares in the dairy firm held by Hong and his wife and grandson to Dayou Winia Group.
Hahn & Co filed the injunction suit in early December last year shortly after the Hong family signed a conditional agreement with Dayou Winia Group in November to sell their majority stake in the company. Under the agreement, the three Namyang shareholders agreed to sell their shares to Dayou Winia Group if they win the legal dispute with Hahn & Co.
The deal came as a surprise to many as it was announced in the midst of an ongoing legal battle between Hahn & Co and the Hong family, which in May signed a deal to offload their stakes to the private equity firm and abruptly pulled out two months later.
In the hearing on January 7, a Yoon & Yang lawyer representing Hahn & Co said that the lawsuit was filed to prevent Hong from doing such an act again and also to prevent any negative impact on the dairy company.
A LKB& Partners lawyer for Hong responded by claiming that there was a side agreement between the Namyang chairman and Hahn & Co with text messages between Hong and PH & Company chairman Phillip Ham, who brokered the deal between Hong and Hahn & Co, submitted as evidence.
Hong’s lawyer also accused law firm Kim & Chang of failing to get the chairman’s consent in advance to represent both him and the private equity firm in the deal and committing breach of trust.
However, the court rejected most of the arguments set forth by Hong’s lawyer, according to a source familiar with the lawsuit. This is likely to have impact on the main case brought by Hahn & Co against the Hong family in August. The next hearing for the main case is scheduled for February 24.
This is the third time that Hong lost a case against Hahn & Co. In September last year, Hahn & Co won a court ruling to block a share sale by the Hong family to a third party. Namyang then announced a plan to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting in October. In response, Hahn & Co filed a request to ban the Hong family from exercising their voting rights, which was accepted by the court. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- 우리금융 "롯데손보 M&A, 과도한 가격 부담 안한다"
- 신한캐피탈, 지속성장 포트폴리오 리밸런싱 체계 강화
- 하나금융, ELS 악재에도 실적 선방…확고한 수익 기반
- 하나금융, 자본비율 하락에도 주주환원 강화 의지
- 국민연금, '역대 최대 1.5조' 출자사업 닻 올렸다
- [도전 직면한 하이브 멀티레이블]하이브, 강한 자율성 보장 '양날의 검' 됐나
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]꺾여버린 기세에…포스코홀딩스, '자사주 소각' 카드 재소환
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]LG엔솔 예견된 실적·주가 하락, 비용 절감 '집중'
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]포스코인터, 컨센서스 웃돌았지만 주가는 '주춤'
- 신한금융, ‘리딩금융’ 재탈환에 주주환원 강화 자신감