이 기사는 2021년 06월 16일 08시04분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Samwhan Corporation, one of the construction arms of SM Group, has bought a small stake in HMM in a surprise move, as the shipping company’s largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank (KDB), explores options to offload its stake in the company recovering from bad years.

The construction company revealed in a filing on Friday that its board earlier this month approved to purchase 298,146 shares in HMM. The transaction, which was completed on June 7, was worth 13.5 billion won ($12.1 million) – equivalent to 46% of the builder’s consolidated cash and cash equivalents as of the end of 2020.

Samwhan said the purpose of the purchase was to make financial gains. The number of shares bought by Samwhan represents 0.086% of HMM’s shares outstanding.

Samwhan was acquired in 2018 by SM Group, whose business areas include chemicals, construction and shipping. Samwhan is 97.7% owned by SM Group chairman Woo Oh-hyun and his eldest daughter Woo Yeon-a, who is vice president of TK Chemical, the chemical arm of SM Group.

There is little room for synergy between Samwhan and HMM, formerly known as Hyundai Merchant Marine, as they are in different industries. The purchase is also hardly viewed as bargain hunting, as HMM shares have trended higher by more than three-fold in the past six months. The company’s stock price ended at 46,250 won on Monday, down from a multi-year high of 51,100 won on May 28.

Samwhan’s purchase of HMM shares may not be just for financial gains given SM Group’s ambitions for expansion, industry watchers said. SM Group has grown its shipping business through mergers and acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Korea Line and SM Line – formerly Hanjin Shipping's transpacific route assets – in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

SM Group had considered acquiring HMM early last year when the company’s shares traded at lows, but became cautious as the stock began to rise sharply in the second half, according to a source with knowledge of the company's plans.

KDB is HMM’s largest shareholder with an 11.94% stake. The state-controlled lender bought 300 billion won in convertible bonds issued by HMM in 2016, which can be converted to common shares at a conversion price of 5,000 won per share by the end of this month.

The conversion of all bonds into shares would raise KDB’s stake in HMM to some 25%. However, under the country’s banking law, KDB cannot hold more than 15% stake in a company other than its subsidiaries.

“We bought shares (in HMM) for financial gains and there is no other reason,” a high-rank official at Samwhan said, adding that nothing has been decided regarding additional purchases. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)