Four-bidder shortlist for Halla Cement stake

Four-bidder shortlist for Halla Cement stake
19 September 2017


Four bidders have been shortlisted for the full stake in South Korea’s Halla Cement, the country’s fourth-largest cement producer.

Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia, the largest shareholder of Halla Cement, and its sales advisor Citigroup Global Market Securities Korea have shortlisted four potential buyers: three strategic investors – Asia Cement Co, Sungshin Cement Co and Aju Corporation Co – and private equity fund LK Investment Partners. Last week a total of six investors initially submitted preliminary bids to buy Halla Cement.

The shortlisted bidders have 5-6 weeks to conduct due diligence on the company before submitting final bids in early November. The final bidder will be chosen by mid-November.

Baring PEA acquired the cement producer for around KRW550bn (US$487.6m) last year and is now reportedly seeking between KRW600bn-800bn. Halla Cement has seen significant improvement in its earning during the last year. IN 2016, the cement producer saw its operating income increase to KRW62.8bn, up 43 per cent YoY.

Published under Cement News