Hanwha Ocean Abandons Acquisition of Australian Defense Company 'Ostal'

Hanwha Ocean has abandoned its acquisition of the Australian defense and shipbuilding company Austal.

On the 25th, Hanwha Ocean announced, "Regarding the acquisition of Austal, we have ceased negotiations with Austal's management and board of directors on this deal as of today," adding, "We have also notified the other party."

Hanwha Ocean Geoje Plant. [Photo by Hanwha Ocean]

Hanwha stated that it had been continuously negotiating with Austal's board to pursue the acquisition but failed to reach an agreement.

In particular, Hanwha's position is that Austal proposed unreasonable conditions, such as requiring a prepayment of AUD 5 million (approximately KRW 4.5 billion) in fees before due diligence, and that the fees would not be refunded if approval from the US or Australia was not obtained, which Hanwha could not accept.

Earlier, Hanwha had offered AUD 1 billion (about KRW 880 billion) in April to acquire Austal.

A Hanwha official said, "Although the review of the Austal acquisition has been halted, we will continue to seek new business opportunities both domestically and internationally, including in Australia."