[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Private equity fund MBK Partners (MBK), which is in the process of an open purchase of Korea & Company, has asked the Financial Supervisory Service to investigate the alleged manipulation of the market price in the process of purchasing honorary chairman Cho Yang-rae's stake.

The Financial Supervisory Service was found to have received a request from the MBK on the 15th to investigate the violation of the Capital Markets Act. MBK claimed that honorary chairman Cho, a friendly force of chairman Cho Hyun-beom, acquired the stock at a high unit price with the aim of raising the stock price to more than 20,000 won.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure earlier, honorary chairman Cho bought a total of 2,583,718 shares of Korea & Company in the market from July 7-14. The average purchase price per share is 20,256 won. MBK believes that honorary chairman Cho intentionally raised the stock price in the process of purchasing the stake in order to hinder the tender purchase.

In addition, MBK claimed that honorary chairman Cho violated the disclosure law. On the 8th, Chairman Cho reported that he excluded Cho Hyun-sik, an advisor to Korea & Company, and Cho Hee-won, who made an open purchase in partnership with MBK, from special officials. The MBK is raising suspicions that the disclosure did not include changes in the stock trading of honorary chairman Cho.

 

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