South Korean business conglomerate Hanwha Group now holds a 9.9% stake in Australian shipbuilding firm Austal, according to an exchange filing.
The filing revealed that Hanwha, which had its US$650 million takeover bid rejected by Austal last year, acquired 41.2 million shares at A$4.45 (around US$2.85) per share.
It is important to note that last year, Hanwha, which runs the yard formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, secured an agreement to buy US shipbuilder Philly Shipyard.
The South Korean company appears to be on an acquisition spree, seeking to strengthen and expand its shipbuilding capabilities at a time when newbuilding orders, particularly in the container shipping sector, are at high levels.
