South Korea’s Hanwha Group signs deal to take over Daewoo Shipbuilding

SOUTH Korea’s Hanwha Group has signed an agreement to take over Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Daewoo Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing on Friday (Dec 16).

The deal comes after the two parties signed a tentative agreement in September in which affiliates of Hanwha Group including Hanwha Aerospace said they would invest 2 trillion won (S$2.1 billion) in return for a 49.3 per cent stake and management rights in Daewoo shipbuilding.

Hanwha Group, South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate with 80 trillion won in assets, spans energy, defence and financial industries.

The takeover deal still needs to be approved by foreign competition regulators, including in the European Union (EU), Japan, China and Singapore, according to the regulatory filing.

Earlier this year, rival Hyundai Heavy Industries’ attempt to take over Daewoo was vetoed by the EU over concerns the deal, which would have created the world’s largest shipbuilder, would hurt competition. REUTERS