ID :
22909
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 20:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22909
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KEB sets up task force on stake sale
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) has set up a task force to help find a new strategic investor, the bank's chief said Monday, heralding the resumption of the process of selling a controlling stake in the fifth-largest lender in South Korea.
About two weeks ago, British banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc backed out of a
US$6.3 billion deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star Funds,
citing falling asset values amid global financial turmoil.
"We need to identify superior alternatives to the major domestic banks pursuing
mergers and acquisitions just to increase their asset size," Richard Wacker,
chairman of KEB, said in a speech to his staff. The task force was established on
Thursday.
"The ultimate goal of the task force is to help find a new strategic major
shareholder for the bank who shares our goals for the future of KEB, while at the
same time meeting the interests of our current major shareholder."
Analysts say HSBC's decision to pull out of the KEB takeover has reignited
competition to acquire KEB among domestic lenders.
South Korea's top retail lender Kookmin Bank has expressed its interest in buying
KEB, even after Lone Star scrapped a deal to sell its whole stake to Kookmin Bank
in November 2006 amid a legal limbo related to its purchase of KEB in 2003.
Kookmin Bank is beefing up efforts to secure ammunition to prepare for a possible
takeover of KEB. Recently, Kookmin sold its stake in PT Bank International
Indonesia to Malaysia's leading bank for $309 million, and plans to sell treasury
stocks worth 4 trillion won ($3.15 billion) created as the company prepared for
its transformation into a holding company, set to happen later this year.
Meanwhile, according to industry sources, U.S. buyout fund Lone Star Funds has
picked up a sales manager from European investment banks in an apparent bid to
speed up the KEB sale process. A public relations agency in South Korea
representing Lone Star declined to comment.
Market watchers have said it would take a considerable amount of time for Lone
Star to complete the KEB sale.
"Amid ongoing financial turmoil and strong opposition by KEB unions against
Kookmin's possible takeover, it would not be easy for Lone Star to complete the
sale process in the near future," said Choi Jong-won, a banking analyst at Tong
Yang Securities Co.
About two weeks ago, British banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc backed out of a
US$6.3 billion deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star Funds,
citing falling asset values amid global financial turmoil.
"We need to identify superior alternatives to the major domestic banks pursuing
mergers and acquisitions just to increase their asset size," Richard Wacker,
chairman of KEB, said in a speech to his staff. The task force was established on
Thursday.
"The ultimate goal of the task force is to help find a new strategic major
shareholder for the bank who shares our goals for the future of KEB, while at the
same time meeting the interests of our current major shareholder."
Analysts say HSBC's decision to pull out of the KEB takeover has reignited
competition to acquire KEB among domestic lenders.
South Korea's top retail lender Kookmin Bank has expressed its interest in buying
KEB, even after Lone Star scrapped a deal to sell its whole stake to Kookmin Bank
in November 2006 amid a legal limbo related to its purchase of KEB in 2003.
Kookmin Bank is beefing up efforts to secure ammunition to prepare for a possible
takeover of KEB. Recently, Kookmin sold its stake in PT Bank International
Indonesia to Malaysia's leading bank for $309 million, and plans to sell treasury
stocks worth 4 trillion won ($3.15 billion) created as the company prepared for
its transformation into a holding company, set to happen later this year.
Meanwhile, according to industry sources, U.S. buyout fund Lone Star Funds has
picked up a sales manager from European investment banks in an apparent bid to
speed up the KEB sale process. A public relations agency in South Korea
representing Lone Star declined to comment.
Market watchers have said it would take a considerable amount of time for Lone
Star to complete the KEB sale.
"Amid ongoing financial turmoil and strong opposition by KEB unions against
Kookmin's possible takeover, it would not be easy for Lone Star to complete the
sale process in the near future," said Choi Jong-won, a banking analyst at Tong
Yang Securities Co.
