HMM Sale Preferred Negotiation Partner Selected as Harim Group

Harim Group has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of HMM, the largest container shipping company in South Korea.

On the 18th, the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation announced that the Pan Ocean-JKL Partners consortium was chosen as the preferred bidder for the sale of HMM's management rights. Harim Group has acquired HMM, surpassing Dongwon Group.

As the HMM acquisition battle officially begins, the HMM headquarters located in Park One Tower, Yeouido. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

The number of HMM shares for sale is 398.79 million shares held by the creditors' group, with the acquisition price reportedly around 6.4 trillion KRW.

Previously, in the main bidding held last month by the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation, the Pan Ocean-JKL Partners consortium and Dongwon Group participated. The sellers had planned to select the preferred bidder by early this month, but the process was somewhat delayed as Harim Group presented several demands related to acquisition conditions. Harim requested a three-year grace period for the conversion of perpetual bonds into shares, but the sellers reportedly maintained that this was not possible.

If the acquisition proceeds as planned, Harim Group is expected to develop into a comprehensive logistics company owning both the bulk shipping company Pan Ocean and the container shipping company HMM.

Meanwhile, if Harim Group acquires HMM, the group's ranking in the business community is expected to soar from around 20th place to within the top 10.