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Chung Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group. (Photo = Shinsegae Group) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Shinsegae Group announced last Friday that Chairman Chung Yong-jin has completed the purchase of a 10% stake in E-Mart previously held by his mother, Lee Myung-hee, the group’s honorary chairwoman.
On February 11, after market close, Chairman Chung acquired 2,787,582 shares of E-Mart through an off-hours block trade at a price of 80,760 KRW per share. The price included a 20% premium on the day’s closing price of 67,300 KRW, as the transaction was conducted between related parties. The total transaction value amounted to 225.1 billion KRW (approximately $169 million).
As a result, Chung's stake in E-Mart increased from 18.56% (5,172,911 shares) to 28.56% (7,960,493 shares). It is reported that he utilized his personal assets, including cash, to finance the acquisition.
With this transaction, Chairman Chung has effectively completed the transfer of E-Mart shares from his mother, finalizing the succession of ownership. When E-Mart disclosed the planned stock transaction between Chung and his mother on January 10, the company stated that the move was intended to strengthen Chung’s role as the largest shareholder and reinforce performance-driven, responsible management.
Industry observers view the stake purchase as a follow-up measure to the separation of E-Mart and Shinsegae, announced on October 30 last year. Under South Korea’s Fair Trade Act, for affiliated companies to undergo group separation, cross-shareholdings between listed firms must be reduced to below 3%, and those between unlisted firms must be under 10%.
With this transaction, Honorary Chairwoman Lee has now sold her entire stake in E-Mart, while retaining a 10% stake in Shinsegae.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
