[Featured Stock] Socar Rises 19% on Founder Lee Jae-woong's Tender Offer News

Socar is showing strong performance in the early trading session. It is interpreted that the news of the founder and former Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong publicly purchasing over 170,000 shares has pushed the stock price up.

As of 9:19 AM on the 14th, Socar is trading at 17,030 KRW, soaring 19.85% (2,820 KRW) compared to the previous day.

Lee’s personal company, SOQR AI, announced through a disclosure on the same day that it will publicly purchase 171,429 shares of Socar stock (0.52% stake) at 17,500 KRW per share. The public purchase period is from that day until April 2.

SOQR AI explained the background of the public purchase, stating, "We intend to expand the stake in the target company to 19.72% to create an environment where the current management can take more responsible management and enhance Socar’s business competitiveness and corporate value."

Currently, SOQR AI holds a 19.20% stake in Socar. Combining the 9.99% stake held personally by Lee, the 2.98% held by current CEO Park Jae-wook, and shares held by special relations and friendly parties, Lee’s overall stake reaches the 45% range.

In the industry, there is speculation that this public purchase is to preemptively block the possibility of a hostile takeover (M&A) by Lotte Rental, the second-largest shareholder. Lotte Rental, which holds 25.73% of Socar shares, operates a vehicle-sharing service called "Green Car," similar to Socar.