[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] As Germany's largest container carrier Hapag-Lloyd, which jumped into the acquisition of HMM, was eliminated in the process of selecting a qualified candidate (shortlist), the acquisition is expected to be a three-way race between Dongwon, Harim (136480) and LX Group.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 29th, the sale of KDB Development Bank and the Korea Maritime Promotion Agency will select Dongwon, Harim and LX Group as candidates for the acquisition and notify individual companies within this month.

Earlier, the Korea Maritime Industry Federation and the Busan Port Development Council issued a statement that HMM should not be sold overseas for national security.

With the elimination of Hapag-Lloyd, attention is also expected to be paid to how the remaining three groups will raise funds for the acquisition. They reportedly wrote down the acquisition price of 5 trillion won in the preliminary bid on the 21st.

The sale will give the three groups selected as eligible candidates for the acquisition a chance to conduct due diligence over the next two months. As soon as the due diligence schedule is completed, the main bidding will be carried out and the sale will be completed by the end of this year.

 

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