Pending regulatory approvals, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) announced a further deadline extension for the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
KSOE, a holding company of the world’s largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, has revised its contract with Korea Development Bank (KDB) to extend the deadline, due to a delay in the EU’s review of the corporate combination.
More specifically, KSOE announced on 22 January that it has extended the deadline for the investment contracts signed with KDB from 30 September 2020 to 30 June 2021. It also said it will extend the deadline for acquiring new shares of DSME to 31 December 2021, local media reported.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group signed the main contract for DSME acquisition with KDB in March 2019. The proposed takeover of Daewoo seeks to boost further Hyundai’s position in a time when South Korean shipbuilding industry is hit by competition from China and Singapore. The combined companies would include four shipbuilders: Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and DSME.
In December 2020, China greenlighted the proposed merger, following the green light of Singapore and Kazakhstan.
Europe is still investigating the merger, having expressed concerns for potential negative impacts in the cargo shipbuilding industry. The Commission’s investigation has stopped two times due to COVID-19 and another one in July.
