South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has rolled out plans to merge with its affiliate HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard by the end of the year, aiming to strengthen its position in the US naval and Arctic shipbuilding markets.
The move comes after a Korea-US summit highlighted shipbuilding cooperation under the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” (MASGA) initiative. Seoul has pledged $150bn in US shipbuilding investments as part of a wider $350bn package tied to tariff relief.
HD Hyundai, the country’s largest builder of naval ships, said the merger will combine its design and defence expertise with Mipo’s yards, facilities, and workforce. The merged yard will focus on naval vessels, LNG carriers, and ice-class ships, as Washington commits $8.6bn to expand its Coast Guard’s Arctic icebreaker fleet.
The deal values one Mipo share at 1.0406 HD Hyundai Heavy shares. Both stocks surged on the news, with Mipo jumping 14.6% to record highs. Other Korean shipbuilders also rallied on expectations around MASGA.
The new entity is expected to be launched in December. Hyundai said it intends to move quickly to capture opportunities in the growing defence and Arctic markets as global demand for naval capability rises.
The announcement follows a flurry of Korean investment in US yards. Hanwha, which acquired Philly Shipyard last year, has pledged $5bn to expand the facility, adding docks, quays and a block assembly plant to raise output to as many as 20 ships a year. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai has teamed up with Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest US defence shipbuilder, and joined forces with Edison Chouest Offshore to build ships.
