South Korean poultry processor Harim Group has almost sealed its takeover of bulker operator Pan Ocean, after its holding company Jeil Holdings replaced the Korea Development Bank (KDB) as Pan Ocean’s biggest shareholder, following the allotment of additional shares.
The share allotment is part of Pan Ocean’s financial rehabilitation after South Korea’s biggest bulker operator went into receivership in June 2013, after amassing over USD5 billion in debts.
Pan Ocean issued new shares worth some KRW850 billion (USD771 million), of which stock worth KRW680 billion was acquired by Jeil.
In a Korea Exchange filing, Pan Ocean said Jeil Holdings and 14 related persons had been allocated 272,199,292 shares to take up a 52.11% stake in the company.
Harim Group has set up a consortium with private equity firm JKL Partners to acquire Pan Ocean.
Related news:Harim moves towards Pan Ocean takeover
Pan Ocean was once part of the troubled STX chaebol but a series of debt-to-equity swaps saw KDB, its biggest creditor, take a majority stake of 12.23%.
The bank subsequently steered the company’s restructuring efforts.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.