HMM Does Not Consider Selling off Oil Tanker Business Division”

“Right now, we do not consider anything in connection with the sell-off of our oil tanker business division,” Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) answered to a request of an inquired disclosure by the Korea Exchange with respect to press reports that HMM was pushing forward with the sell-off of the division on September 4. 

“We considered various measures including the sell-off of the Oil Tanker Business Division in order to secure liquidity and improve out financial structure in March and April,” HMM said.  “Afterwards, we signed a voluntary agreement and completed debt-for-equity swap and a capital increase with consideration and debt readjustment with our creditors. Thus, we are not considering the sell-off of the Oil Tanker Business Division.” On the other hand, Denmark’s Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company will not take over Hanjin Shipping, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on October 3. 

Quoting a news source, WSJ reported that Maersk will wait for other shipping companies to be quite close to going bankrupt and look for their buyers instead of taking over Korean shipping companies. “It is no more than a rumor that Maersk will take over Hanjin Shipping or HMM,” a source close to Maersk said.  “Maersk is not really interested in Korean shipping companies.”

The WSJ reported that Maersk was interested in buying vessels from Hanjin Shipping. Like other shipping companies, for example, those of China, Maersk is planning to take over some usable ships of Hanjin Shipping’s 37 vessels.