The shares of South Korea’s largest shipping line Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. (KSX:00700) rose 5.6%, following a report that Sammy Ofer increased his stake in the company to 12%.
"Bloomberg" cites a report by ”MoneyToday” that Ofer bought 8.7% of Hanjin Shipping from Norwegian shipping tycoon John Fredriksen for 154.5 billion won ($161 million).
Korean analysts said Ofer was unlikely to launch a takeover bid for Hanjin Shipping because of the size of the controlling shareholders’ stake. They believe, however, he may call on the company to increase its dividends and sell assets unrelated to its shipping business.
In Hanjin Shipping’s last report to South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service at the end of June, company chairman Cho Soo Ho, Cho family members, and Korean Air Lines Co. (KSX:3490) owns 17.7% of the company.
Sammy Ofer reportedly bought the Hanjin Shipping stake through Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which announced that it bought shares in the company for a customer. The banks said the shares were in addition to three million shares already held.
This is not Sammy Ofer’s first investment in shipping. Together with his brother Yuli, he owns the controlling interest in Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. through Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 12, 2006
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