Under the plan, LG will purchase privately-owned shares of LGInternational Corp. from major shareholders, including LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Corp., the holding firm of South Korea’s family-controlled conglomerate LG Group, said Thursday it has decided to purchase a 24.7 percent stake in a trading unit to renovate its governing structure.
Under the plan, LG will purchase privately-owned shares of LG International Corp. from major shareholders, including LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo.
The deal is estimated at 296.7 billion won (US$265 million), with the price per share standing at 31,000 won.
The move came amid criticism that LG did not include affiliates with major private shareholders under the holding firm. The purchase will meet the legal requirement of 20 percent needed to include a listed affiliate under the holding-firm structure.
Koo owned a 2.51 percent stake in LG International, with his son Kwang-mo controlling 2.11 percent. The chairman’s brother Koo Bon-Joon possessed a 3.01 percent stake in the company. All of their shares are included in LG’s latest purchase.
“LG has been making efforts to improve its governing structure by moving towards a holding-firm arrangement,” an official from LG said. “The latest move aims at solidifying the holding-firm structure.”
Shares of LG International are more exposed than others to sharp fluctuations, as private shareholders are free to sell stakes at any time.
LG said it will continue to simplify the governing structure, and allow affiliates to focus on their respective businesses.
(Yonhap)
