SEOUL, KOREA - KDB Capital and JKL Partners have set out to sell off a 49.99-percent stake in Hankook Jungsoo Industries, Korea's oldest water treatment company. According to investment banking sources on July 27, the two shareholders of the company sent out a letter to Lee Gyu-cheol, former president of Hankook Jungsoo Industries, whether he wants to acquire their shareholdings.

 

Earlier in 2010, KDB Capital and JKL Partners had purchased the company's stake through an investment fund arranged by the Korea Finance Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement at the time, they had the right to sell off their holdings to a third-party buyer unless the company goes public by June 2014. But they were supposed to notify to the second-largest shareholder, Mr. Lee, whether he is willing to buy the shares before exercising their right.

 

The former president currently holds a 35.88-percent stake in the company. Investment bankers expected that he would purchase the shares in partnership with other financial investors given the limited financial resources he could mobilize. Others said that it would be difficult for him to buy up the 49.99-percent stake considering he was fired from his post last year for professional negligence by the board of directors and he is 76 years old. Unless Mr. Lee responds by the end of September, KDB Capital and JKL Partners will sell off their holdings to a third-party acquirer.