Hoban, possibility of becoming Hanjin KAL's largest shareholder... Cho Won-tae decides to purchase additional stocks (comprehensive)

While Hoban Group purchased additional shares of Hanjin Group's holding company Hanjin KAL and reported the business combination to the Fair Trade Commission regarding the possibility of becoming the largest shareholder, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae began securing additional shares.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's Electronic Disclosure System on the 2nd, Chairman Cho signed a stock purchase agreement to purchase 325,000 shares of Hanjin KAL's common stock at 114,000 won per share. The total amount is 37.05 billion won.

The expected purchase period is from the 3rd of next month to January 1st of next year, and will be conducted in an after-hours bulk sale (block deal) manner.

Once the transaction is completed, Chairman Cho's stake in Hanjin KAL (including preferred stock) will increase from 5.75% to 6.23%. Based on common stocks with voting rights, this is an increase of 0.49 percentage points. Including the shares of related parties, Chairman Cho's share becomes 21.06%.

Chairman Cho said the purpose of the transaction was to "strengthen responsible management."

Regarding this, Hanjin Group explained, "We understand that this is an issue that has been prepared for a long time, and it has nothing to do with Hoban's movements."

Previously, Hoban Group also recently secured additional Hanjin KAL stocks by purchasing them on the market.

Hoban Group explained that it believed that Chairman Cho's stake may have exceeded the stake through this additional purchase and that it was waiting for the results after reporting the business combination last month in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Trade Act.

As of July 10, Hoban Group held a 20.15% stake in Hanjin KAL, narrowing the gap with Chairman Cho's stake (20.57% as of June 30) to 0.42 percentage points, making it the second largest shareholder.

The Fair Trade Act stipulates that a company whose total assets or sales exceed the standards set by law must report a business combination when it holds more than 15% of the shares of another listed company and when it becomes the largest investor through additional acquisitions.

The Fair Trade Commission must review the possibility of competition restrictions due to a business combination within 30 days from the date of reporting, but if the need is recognized, the period can be extended by up to 90 days.

Hoban Group stated the purpose of the purchase as 'simple investment' in a public announcement regarding the purchase of additional Hanjin KAL shares in July, but some in the market interpret it as having mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in mind.

However, Delta Air Lines and Korea Development Bank, known as Chairman Cho's friendly shareholders, hold 14.90% and 10.58% of shares in Hanjin KAL, respectively, as of the semi-annual report at the end of June this year, and when added together, their shares greatly exceed Hoban Group's shareholding ratio.

In addition, Chairman Cho has announced the purchase of additional shares, so it is unclear whether the largest shareholder will actually change.

The National Pension Service, which can be a variable, also holds a 5.46% stake in Hanjin KAL.