Hyundai Securities Co has accepted the new terms of a US$850 million deal that would pass management control of the company and two affiliated firms to a US financial consortium, government officials said yesterday.
Two weeks ago, a US consortium led by the insurance giant American International Group and New York merchant bank WL Ross & Co signed a preliminary agreement to become the controlling shareholders in Hyundai Securities Co and financial affiliates Hyundai Investment Trust & Securities Co and Hyundai Investment Trust Management Co.
If the deal goes through, the offered price of US$850 million would be the largest foreign investment ever made in the South Korean financial sector.
As a way to split risks, the deal requires the Seoul government to pump an extra 700 million into the Hyundai affiliates.
At one point, the US investors threatened to abandon the deal unless the offered price for new preferred shares to be issued by Hyundai Securities was lowered. Hyundai Securities initially had asked 8,940 won (US$6.98) per new share, while the US consortium wanted 7,000 won (US$5.46).
Preferred stock has preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and liquidation of assets. It does not ordinarily carry voting rights.
Over the weekend, Hyundai accepted the US demand.
"The government was informed that Hyundai Securities has decided to accept the US demand to avoid shocks that may result from a collapse of the deal," said Lee Woo-chul, a director at the Financial Supervisory Service.
Lee said the government regulator was not involved in the Hyundai decision.
There was no immediate confirmation of the agreement from Hyundai Securities Co.
The price of Hyundai Securities Co shares listed on Korea Stock Exchange has dropped nearly 20 percent to 8,000 won (US$7) in the past month and is expected to fall further to 7,000 won (US$5.46) soon, officials said.
The new terms will boost the American investors' share in Hyundai Securities to 33.1 percent from the previously projected 29.5 percent, making it the largest shareholder in the firm, officials said.
The new terms would not affect the original agreement, that would give the US consortium the right to control more than half of the shares in the two smaller Hyundai firms, they said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique