Small investors side with US fund in Samsung C&T deal

Seoul

IN a country with a record of hostility towards foreign capital, some local investors are breaking with tradition as they side with a US hedge fund opposing an US$8 billion merger seen vital to the transfer of leadership at South Korea's top conglomerate.

Hundreds of Samsung C&T Corp's small stakeholders have converged on a public Web forum in recent days to protest what they say is a low-ball all-stock takeover offer from Cheil Industries Inc, an affiliate of Samsung Group and the conglomerate's de facto holding company.

Heirs of Samsung Group's founding Lee family want the merger t…