IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment consortium is pursuing the sale of Hyundai LNG Shipping to Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas. However, whether the overseas sale of Hyundai LNG Shipping, which handles the transportation of LNG as a national strategic cargo, will be possible remains uncertain. Some voices suggest that even if the government blocks the overseas sale, solutions should be prepared for the company that is losing competitiveness due to its prolonged inability to find a new owner, such as having national shipping company HMM reconsider the acquisition.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on Nov. 25, IMM Consortium will sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) on Nov. 26 to sell its entire 100% stake in Hyundai LNG Shipping to Sinar Mas. The sale price is known to be approximately 400 billion won based on equity value. However, participation by additional acquisition candidates is reportedly still open.

IMM Consortium acquired the former LNG business division from HMM in 2014 for 1.03 trillion won (about $710 million) through a spin-off. Among this, the equity investment amount excluding debt was at the level of 400 billion won. Since then, it attempted sales twice in 2021 and 2023 but failed to find a clear buyer. If this sale is completed, IMM Consortium is analyzed to recover its principal amount after 11 years.

The acquiring party, Sinar Mas, is a major Indonesian conglomerate established in 1938 that has a history of acquiring domestic companies including tissue paper manufacturer Monaliza and semiconductor equipment company Hosan Tech. It has subsidiaries including Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest paper companies, real estate developer Sinar Mas Land, Sinar Mas Bank, Golden Agri-Resources, the world’s second-largest palm oil company, and telecommunications company Smartfren.

Whether the government will approve the overseas sale of Hyundai LNG Shipping, which handles the transportation of LNG as a national strategic cargo, remains uncertain. In 2023, European shipping companies showed interest in Hyundai LNG Shipping, but the transaction fell through as the government expressed concerns about the overseas sale from an energy security perspective. Instead, HMM participated in the acquisition race, but it ultimately failed as both sides could not match their expectations. Some voices suggest that considering Hyundai LNG Shipping’s situation of weakening competitiveness due to prolonged sale failures, alternatives should be prepared at the industrial level, such as utilizing policy funds.

Source:Business Korea