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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Kakao, which has faced criticism over its subsidiary spin-off IPOs, has announced plans to implement shareholder protection measures to prevent any harm to its parent company’s shareholders.
At the first regular meeting of the year, Kakao’s Compliance and Trust Committee (Joonshinwi) received a report on the company’s efforts to safeguard the interests of its shareholders. The committee, an independent body that supports Kakao affiliates' compliance and trust management, was informed about these new steps.
Kakao plans to add a clause to its corporate governance charter, ensuring that the interests of shareholders are protected during IPOs. This includes mandatory communication with parent company shareholders and developing measures to protect shareholder value based on the subsidiary's size and the proportion of minority shareholders.
Last June, the committee also set a principle to avoid indiscriminate IPOs due to concerns about a decrease in shareholder value for the parent company. Kakao pledged to conduct thorough verification before initiating any IPO and promised to establish shareholder protection strategies once an IPO is confirmed.
This move to protect shareholder value also appears to be in response to the Financial Services Commission’s ongoing push to amend the Capital Markets Act. The commission plans to revise the law to ensure that parent company shareholders can also benefit from the value of a promising business division after a spin-off and IPO.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
