Korea Zinc Secures 11.26% Stake to Counter Hostile Takeover Attempt

SEOUL: Korea Zinc Co. announced that it has successfully repurchased an 11.26 percent stake in its company as part of a strategic move to defend against a hostile takeover attempt. The buyback is aimed at maintaining management control of the world's largest zinc smelter amid aggressive acquisition efforts by its largest shareholder, Young Poong Corp., and private equity firm MBK Partners. According to Yonhap News Agency, Korea Zinc initially set out to repurchase up to 20 percent of its stock at a price of 890,000 won (approximately US$640.91) per share. This move comes in response to a recent tender offer by Young Poong and MBK, who acquired a 5.34 percent stake at 830,000 won per share, increasing their total stake in Korea Zinc to over 38 percent. The recent buyback by Korea Zinc has increased the combined stake of Chairman Choi Yun-beom and associated parties to 29.32 percent, up from 18.06 percent, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. In addition to the buyback, Korea Zinc announced plans to cancel a 9.85 percent stake to further enhance shareholder value. A spokesperson for Korea Zinc expressed confidence that the company's friendly shares, including those held by the Choi family, will exceed 40 percent following the planned stake cancellation. This would position Korea Zinc's shareholding close to the estimated 42 percent held by the Young Poong group.