[Exclusive] Kang Seung-su, Hanssem Chairman, "Will Solidify Position as Overwhelming No.1 Company"

Hanssem Welcomes IMM PE: "Stay Steady, Create Opportunities for Challenge and Growth"

Kang Seung-su, Chairman of Hanssem, speaking at the 50th Anniversary Vision Declaration Ceremony of Hanssem in September last year.
[Photo by Hanssem]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Kang Seung-soo, chairman of Hanssem, stated on the 26th, "We will continue to pursue our existing strategy without wavering and firmly establish our position as the overwhelming number one company."

Chairman Kang made this remark as the acquisition contract with IMM Private Equity (IMM PE), a domestic private equity fund (PEF) management firm, was finalized, encouraging employees by saying, "Although the environment is changing, let us not waver and create opportunities for challenge and growth."

On the same day, Hanssem posted a 'CEO Message' under Chairman Kang's name on the company intranet to stabilize the internal atmosphere disturbed by the change of the largest shareholder.

Chairman Kang began by explaining the future schedule, saying, "By the end of the year, a new board of directors will be formed through the board meeting and an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, and the entire process of the contract will be completed by finalizing the company's future operating system."

Regarding the greatest significance of the change in the largest shareholder, he assessed, "With the investment company PE becoming Hanssem's largest shareholder, the talented people at Hanssem who know the home interior business better than anyone else and can excel at it will remain as the main agents of management, providing a foundation to continue executing the existing strategy."

He added, "By continuing to pursue the existing strategy without hesitation, we will upgrade our capabilities to the next level and firmly establish our position as the overwhelming number one company leading the market. IMM PE will be a partner that best understands and respects Hanssem's business strategy and current management policies and will work together with us."

Finally, Chairman Kang appealed, "Our value is something we create ourselves. Even in a newly changing environment, let us all become people who do not waver and turn opportunities for challenge and growth into our own."

Meanwhile, IMM PE signed a stock purchase agreement on the 25th to acquire management shares of Hanssem from the founder and honorary chairman Cho Chang-geol and related parties. This came about three months after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in July. The sale includes Chairman Cho's 15.4% stake and 12.3% stake held by seven related parties, with a transaction amount of 1.4513 trillion KRW, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of December.