Yeongpung "Suspicion over Igneo Sales Structure of Korea Zinc... Must Disclose Due Diligence Data"

"Post-Acquisition Absence of Trading Division Revenue...
Contrary to Korea Zinc's Claims"

Yeongpung raised questions about the acquisition process and the fairness of the pricing related to 'Ignio Holdings,' a U.S. electronic waste recycling company acquired through investment by Korea Zinc.

On the 12th, Yeongpung stated, "Korea Zinc previously claimed to have acquired Ignio, including its trading division, for 580 billion KRW, but currently, there is no revenue recorded from the trading division in Ignio's sales," adding, "There is a discrepancy between Korea Zinc's claims and the actual sales composition."

They further added, "This raises doubts as to whether proper valuation or due diligence was conducted at the time of Ignio's acquisition."

On March 19th, shareholders are entering the 'Korea Zinc Annual General Meeting' held at the Yeongpung Building Annex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Korea Zinc argued that applying a 9x multiple to the sales of 63.7 billion KRW, including the trading division, was appropriate when acquiring Ignio for 580 billion KRW, but the actual financial data differed from this.

Additionally, Yeongpung pointed out that compared to Caterman Metal, a U.S. scrap trading company recently acquired by Korea Zinc, Ignio's acquisition price was excessively high. Yeongpung noted that Caterman's sales reached 1.6561 trillion KRW, but the acquisition price was about 74 billion KRW, significantly lower than Ignio's, suggesting that Ignio's acquisition might have been overvalued.

A Yeongpung official said, "It is necessary for Korea Zinc to transparently disclose and explain materials related to Ignio's acquisition, such as the valuation report and due diligence report, even at this point."