Harim Group’s chairman, Kim Hong-guk, has been named as co-CEO of bulker outfit Pan Ocean.
The move follows the South Korean poultry processor’s acquisition of Pan Ocean with private equity firm JKL Partners.
Pan Ocean said in a Korea Exchange filing on 20 July that STX Corporation’s former CEO Choo Sung-yeop, who was involved in the negotiations between Harim Group and Pan Ocean, would be the other co-CEO.
Kim You-sik, who was the custodian and CEO of Pan Ocean, has resigned from the posts.
Harim Group’s holding company Jeil Holdings replaced the Korea Development Bank (KDB) as Pan Ocean’s biggest shareholder, following the allotment of additional shares that takes its stake to more than 60%.
Related news: Poultry processor now Pan Ocean’s biggest shareholder
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 more than USD5 billion in debts.
Pan Ocean issued new shares worth about KRW850 billion (USD771 million), of which stock worth KRW680 billion was acquired by Jeil Holdings.
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.
