On the 14th, Youngpoong and MBK Partners completed a public tender offer for Korea Zinc shares, securing a 5.34% stake. Adding this to their existing approximately 33% stake, they now hold over 38% of the shares in total.
In a statement released after completing the tender offer, the Youngpoong-MBK alliance said, "Today will remain a significant milestone in the Korean capital market.
The MBK alliance stated, "Thanks to the support of the capital market, we believe we have taken the first substantial step toward enabling efforts to enhance corporate value through improved corporate governance to function properly," and added, "We deeply thank the shareholders and all parties involved in the domestic capital market."
They continued, "Through the tender offer process over the past month, we have conveyed to shareholders, market participants, as well as the executives and employees of Korea Zinc and Youngpoong Precision, labor unions, local communities, and all members of the Republic of Korea that proper establishment of corporate governance is essential not only for corporate value but also for shareholder value to be properly set," and said, "We sincerely thank all those who have listened to, trusted, and supported the message from MBK and Youngpoong, including the shareholders of Korea Zinc and Youngpoong Precision."
The MBK alliance emphasized, "Now, as the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc, we intend to solidify management control over Korea Zinc and make our best efforts for its sustainable growth and development through establishing transparent corporate governance," and added, "As we have stated several times, the MBK-Youngpoong largest shareholder alliance will engage in sincere communication not only with the market, investors, and shareholders but also with Korea Zinc’s executives and employees, labor unions, affiliates, partner companies, and local communities, and we will fulfill the promises made during this tender offer process as a responsible largest shareholder."
Furthermore, they said, "As the first step of these efforts, MBK and Youngpoong will focus all their capabilities on halting the ‘Korea Zinc treasury stock tender offer,’" and warned, "A large-scale treasury stock tender offer financed by over 3 trillion won in borrowings will cause irreversible damage to Korea Zinc." They added, "This will not only harm the company’s financial structure but also transfer such damage to the remaining shareholders. To prevent this, we will explore all possible measures, including relief through ongoing litigation procedures."
They concluded, "As the largest shareholder, after properly establishing corporate governance, we will do everything necessary to help Korea Zinc grow into a globally recognized leader in the non-ferrous metal smelting sector, a cornerstone and future growth engine of the Korean economy and industry, and a company that fulfills its social responsibilities."
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