KB News Desk
Hanwha Corp., the holding company of Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate Hanwha Group, won shareholder approval Wednesday for a corporate split to separate its core defense, shipbuilding, energy and financial businesses from its machinery and lifestyle operations.
The restructuring into two entities is expected to give the group’s third-generation heirs clearer control over their respective business areas while further solidifying the grip of Vice Chair Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chair Kim Seung-youn, as the likely successor to lead the conglomerate.
The proposal was approved by 99.9 percent of the shares represented at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting in Seoul, according to the company. The shareholder vote came after Hanwha’s board approved the spinoff plan in January.
Under the plan, the existing Hanwha Corp. will remain the group’s central holding entity overseeing its core defense, shipbuilding, energy and financial businesses. Its major affiliates will include shipbuilding and defense businesses overseen by Dong-kwan — Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Solutions — as well as financial units led by second son Kim Dong-won, including Hanwha Life Insurance.
A newly established company, named Hanwha Machinery & Service Holdings, will manage the group’s machinery, technology and lifestyle affiliates. They include Hanwha Vision, Hanwha Hotel & Resort, Hanwha Galleria, Hanwha Momentum, Hanwha Robotics and food service operator Ourhome, the businesses led by Kim Dong-seon, the youngest son.
Under the spin-off plan, existing Hanwha shareholders will receive shares in both Hanwha Corp. and the new entity, Hanwha Machinery & Service Holdings.
The split ratio has been set at 0.7563533 for the existing company and 0.2436467 for the new entity, based on their respective book values of net assets. If a shareholder holds 100 Hanwha Corp. shares before the split, it will hold around 76 shares in the existing company and 24 shares in the new company after the restructuring.
The official split is scheduled to take effect Aug. 1. The companies plan to hold a board meeting Aug. 3, followed by the relisting of the existing Hanwha Corp. and the initial listing of the new company Aug. 25.
The reorganization is expected to simplify Hanwha’s sprawling business portfolio and give the three brothers more clearly defined areas of operational responsibility, observers say.
“The split will enable us to further strengthen the expertise and competitiveness of each business and pursue sustainable growth,” Hanwha Corp. CEO Kim Woo-seok said at the shareholders’ meeting. “By laying the groundwork for the value and growth potential of each business to be assessed more clearly, we aim to enhance the company’s long-term corporate and shareholder value.”
