DYD Acquires Samboo Construction, Korea's First Domestic Construction Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] DYD, which recently obtained a general construction business license and is expanding its construction business, will acquire shares and management rights of Sambu Construction, Korea's first construction company, along with financial investors.

DYD (CEO Jung Changrae) announced on the 4th that it has signed a contract to acquire shares and management rights of Sambu Construction with financial investors. The three companies will purchase 17.5 million existing shares of Sambu Construction for 70 billion KRW, securing a 9.52% stake.

With this acquisition of Sambu Construction, DYD aims to make a significant leap in urban development and real estate development projects. In particular, Western River Consortium, which includes Dayang D&I along with Hanwha Construction and Korea Land Trust, plans to participate in the Saemangeum tourism and leisure land development project, for which it was selected as the preferred negotiator in July last year.

This project is a large-scale development involving approximately 1.1 trillion KRW invested in building a golf course (54 holes), hotels, a theme park, and about 5,000 apartment units on a total site of 1.38 million pyeong. It is expected to generate high synergy by combining the civil engineering construction expertise held by Sambu Construction.

Founded in 1948 as Korea's first licensed construction company, Sambu Construction is a mid-sized construction firm that has grown mainly through major civil engineering projects. It was responsible for the construction of the Gyeongin and Gyeongbu Expressways and Seoul Subway Line 1, focusing on domestic contract construction and self-construction sales projects.

Recently, it has highlighted its strength in logistics center construction by consecutively winning new logistics center construction contracts. A company official stated, "Following contracts worth 194.2 billion KRW in the first quarter, we have consecutively secured new construction contracts such as Gyeongsan Logistics Warehouse (303.2 billion KRW) and Pyeongtaek Dream Tech Industrial Complex Logistics Center (137.5 billion KRW) since April, securing an order backlog approaching 1.8 trillion KRW."

DYD, which operates a well-known cosmetic brand distribution business, added civil engineering and architectural construction business and real estate development to its business objectives last September when the largest shareholder changed to Chairman Iljun Lee of Dayang Industrial Development. Recently obtaining a general construction business license, DYD has started developing residential facilities such as townhouses and officetels in Ilsan, Goyang City, and is expanding its business with a golf course development project in the Pocheon area.

Meanwhile, Dayang D&I and CNI, which participated in this acquisition of Sambu Construction, are real estate development companies invested in by DYD Chairman Iljun Lee and are also the largest shareholders of Wellbiotech, a KOSPI-listed company.

A DYD official said, "With the acquisition of Sambu Construction, we will expand our real estate development business encompassing civil engineering, construction, and architecture," adding, "DYD will demonstrate the capabilities of a comprehensive construction company capable of handling large-scale projects."