[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, one of the candidates for the acquisition of HMM recently delivered a complaint to Samsung Securities, the organizer of the sale.

The sale of HMM, including the KDB Development Bank and the Korea Maritime Promotion Agency, selected Harim, Dongwon and LX Group as qualified candidates earlier this month and gave the candidates a two-month due diligence period from the 6th. Due diligence is conducted in a virtual data room (VDR) method, which is believed to have caused complaints among the acquisition candidates due to poor data provision in the process.

As a listed company, HMM is said to be delaying providing sufficient data on the grounds that important management information may be leaked to the outside. It is known to be lukewarm not only about the acquisition candidate but also about the sale request.

Three weeks have passed since the start of the due diligence, but some observers say the sale schedule of HMM could be delayed as it has rarely progressed. Initially, the sale side planned to conduct due diligence by the end of October and then proceed with the main bidding in early November. Considering the Chuseok holiday, it is necessary to complete the due diligence in about a month.

 

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