The race to acquire state-controlled South Korean flagship HMM is heating up once again. Two years after the first sale attempt failed, Dongwon Group, South Korea’s largest fishing company, has signalled its renewed interest, stirring up the market.
Although the company’s valuation has soared to as much as KRW10trn ($6.8bn), steelmaker POSCO, HD Hyundai, Hanwha Group, and other potential bidders are reported to be crunching the numbers in response to Dongwon’s early move.
HMM is the largest shipping company in South Korea. It has been under state control since 2016 when it ran into extreme financial difficulties at the same time as Hanjin Shipping, with the latter going bankrupt.
HMM became the eighth member of the exclusive teu millionaires club in October. HMM’s fleet now stands at 1,024,728 teu, according to analysis by Alphaliner, which notes that the Korean carrier’s operated capacity has doubled over the past five years.
In September last year, HMM unveiled expansion plans through to the end of the decade, setting aside a massive KRW23.5trn ($17.48bn) that will see its container fleet nearly double while its tanker and dry bulk fleets will triple in size come 2030.
