[Market Focus] Hanssem Rises 3% on Treasury Share Cancellation Decision

Hanssem is showing strong performance on December 23. The company decided to cancel all of its treasury shares worth 340 billion KRW.

As of 9:30 a.m. on this day, Hanssem was trading at 51,200 KRW, up 1,700 KRW (3.43%) from the previous trading day.

According to the investment banking industry, Hanssem plans to cancel all 6,933,606 treasury shares, representing a 29.46% stake. The cancellation process is expected to begin as early as the beginning of next year.

IMM Private Equity, Hanssem’s largest shareholder, reportedly made this decision to enhance shareholder value.

Once all treasury shares are cancelled, IMM Private Equity’s ownership stake will increase from 35.4% to 50.2%. With a majority stake secured, the sale of management rights is expected to become significantly easier in the future.

This comes as the Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to introduce a mandatory tender offer system for management rights sales. If IMM Private Equity secures more than 50% of Hanssem’s shares, potential buyers could acquire management control without a tender offer. Many believe the mandatory tender offer threshold will be set at "50% plus one share."

IMM Private Equity acquired a 27.7% management stake in Hanssem in 2021 for 1.4513 trillion KRW. The purchase price was 221,000 KRW per share, about twice the then market price, reflecting a management premium.