South Korea’s revitalised mid-sized shipbuilder, K Shipbuilding, has been officially put on the market, with owners targeting a sale price of up to KRW1trn ($730m). The sale marks a dramatic turnaround for the former STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, which had once been under court receivership following the 2008 global financial crisis.
Once the world’s fourth-largest shipyard by order backlog, STX collapsed under financial pressure in the early 2010s, eventually entering receivership in 2016. In 2021, a consortium led by KHI Investment and United Asset Management Company (UAMCO) acquired the struggling company for KRW250bn, betting on a sector rebound.
The bet paid off. Now renamed K Shipbuilding, the company has posted its first operating profit in 14 years and forecasts revenues surpassing KRW1trn won in 2025, a level not reached since 2019. The turnaround was fuelled by a surge in demand for MR tankers, with strong pricing and shipyard utilisation rates exceeding 100%.
The UAMCO-KHI consortium has circulated requests for proposals to major accounting firms to appoint a lead manager for the sale. The consortium plans to offload its 99.58% stake in the shipbuilder, including KHI’s 49.79% holding.
Market watchers say the consortium is benchmarking the valuation against peer Daehan Shipbuilding, which recently filed for a listing in Seoul with a valuation over KRW1trn. Daehan, also acquired by KHI in 2022, specialises in aframax crude oil carriers and has posted stronger financial metrics, but analysts say K Shipbuilding’s recent profitability and healthy backlog make it a strong candidate for a premium deal.
The sellers of the yard formerly known as STX are reportedly excluding foreign private equity bidders, citing national interests. Likely suitors include Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai.
Founded in 1976, K Shipbuilding was originally called Ssangyong Heavy Industries before being taken over by a local tycoon, Kang Duk-soo, who went on to build a massive maritime empire before a severe financial crisis engulfed the conglomerate, requiring urgent state support to stay afloat.
