Disposal of 46 Companies
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) decided to dispose of its equity in 46 non-banking subsidiaries before the end of this year. The goal is 10 more than the previous goal.
The firms to be sold within this year are to be selected among the 98 small and medium-sized enterprises and venture firms in which the bank already fulfilled its investment purpose and currently has voting rights of at least 15% and the 34 corporations subject to restructuring in which it has become the largest shareholder through a debt-equity swap and currently has voting rights of at least 5%, examples of the latter including Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Dongbu Steel and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
The KDB is expected to work with secondary funds when it comes to the disposal of the venture firms as this can accelerate the disposal process whereas IPO and M&A cannot be a viable option for firms with lower market values.
At the same time, the KDB is planning to complete the disposal of the corporations such as KAI and Dongbu Steel as soon as possible. At present, the bank is discussing how to sell its 26.4% shares in KAI with the relevant authorities with Hanwha Techwin and Doosan having already sold their KAI shares. In addition, it recently decided to sell Dongbu Steel’s electric furnaces, which used to an obstacle to the sale, to the Middle East.