Johyunbeom, Chairman of Korea & Company, "Prepared to Defend Management Rights... Sufficient Financial Capacity"

Cho Hyun-beom, chairman of Hankook & Company (formerly Hankook Tire) Group, said on the 14th, "Preparations for defending management rights are complete."

On the same day, Cho met with reporters at the Seoul Central District Court, where he attended a trial related to allegations of unfair support to affiliates and embezzlement and breach of trust. Regarding the recent management rights dispute triggered by MBK Partners' tender offer announcement, he made this statement. Cho's elder brother, Cho Hyun-sik, an advisor at Hankook & Company, declared that together with MBK, they would secure more than half of the shares and form a new management team.

Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Korea & Company Group [Photo by Yonhap News]

Cho emphasized that he currently has sufficient financial capacity and said, "I am concerned that individual investors might suffer damages due to the reckless attempts of a reputable private equity fund." It is known that Cho has so far judged that there would be no major problems in defending management rights. This is the first time he has publicly made a related statement.

MBK, advisor Cho Hyun-sik, and Cho Hee-won, the second daughter of honorary chairman Cho Yang-rae, recently revealed plans to publicly tender for more than 20.35% of Hankook & Company shares at 20,000 KRW per share by the 24th. If the tender offer succeeds, MBK's shareholding will exceed half, enabling them to exercise management rights.

Cho Hyun-sik, Advisor at Korea & Company [Photo by archive]

However, since Cho currently holds more than 42% of the shares and less than 30% of the shares are publicly traded, the market views this as a challenging attempt. It is also reported that honorary chairman Cho Yang-rae has expressed to those around him that he will respond directly if MBK raises the tender offer price further, showing support for Cho.

Hankook & Company is the holding company of the Hankook & Company Group, which has Hankook Tire, the largest tire manufacturer in Korea, as its main affiliate. The market is closely watching the possibility that MBK might raise the tender offer price.