Harim Group chairman Kim Hong-kuk said at a press event on 16 October that his company would consider bidding for HMM again if another attempt is made to sell the South Korean flagship carrier.
The poultry processing group, which had acquired South Korea’s largest dry bulk shipping business Pan Ocean in 2015, was named the preferred bidder for HMM at an initial sales attempt last December.
However, Harim, which had teamed with private equity firm JKL Partners, ultimately could not reach an agreement with HMM’s two largest shareholders, the state-controlled Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corporation, and the sale fell through in February. Concern with Harim’s smaller financial scale, relative to HMM’s, also caused HMM’s employee unions to oppose the sale.
HMM, South Korea’s main container carrier, came under state control following a debt-for-equity swap to avert financial collapse in 2016.
Kim said: “If HMM is put up for sale again, I’d give it another look. The key is whether there is sincerity (for the sale of HMM).”
Journalists had asked Kim about his interest in HMM two days after South Korea’s Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kang Do-hyung stated at a press conference that the government has not given up on relinquishing its interest in the liner operator.
Kang said: “In the case of HMM, attempts to find a private owner are continuously being made.”
As HMM’s fortunes recovered after the Covid-19-induced boom, the government believed the time had come for the company to come off state support.
Kim, however, expressed skepticism about the government’s position. “The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ position that it’s looking for a private-sector owner cannot be trusted. If that was the case, they should have sold HMM the last time, but I can’t figure out what they are thinking,” he stated.
“During the last sale process, the Korea Ocean Business Corporation did not show any intention to sell,” added Kim.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
