South Korea’s Woori Bank whose government stake of 30 percent has been offered in splinters of from 4 percent to 8 percent after four failed lump-sum privatization attempts finally landed in hands of new owners.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and its Public Fund Management Committee on Sunday announced that they will sell 29.7 percent of 51.06 percent Woori Bank shares held by Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to seven out of eight bidders who took parts in the main auction last Friday.

The new owners of the country’s fourth largest bank will be IMM Private Equity with 6 percent shares, Korea Investment & Securities Co., Hanwha Life Insurance Co., Tongyang Life Insurance Co., Kiwoom Securities Co., and Eugene Investment & Securities Co. with 4 percent shares each, and Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. with 3.7 percent shares. China’s Anbang Insurance Group is the largest stakeholder of Tongyang Life Insurance and KTB Investment & Securities Co. was eliminated in the final auction after falling short of the requirement.

After completing the stake sale agreement, Korea Deposit Insurance will own 21.4 percent stake in Woori Bank.

Tongyang Life Insurance, Kiwoom Securities, Hanwha Life Insurance, Korea Investment & Securities, and IMM Private Equity expressed their intention to name outside directors, and they are expected to be assigned one outside director position each and participate in management of the bank. The new outside board members will be appointed at the extraordinary meeting of shareholders on December 30.

The state has recovered 10.6 trillion won ($9 billion) out of the total 12.8 trillion won injected in Woori Bank through the latest stake sale, marking recovery rate of 83.4 percent, said Yim Jong-yong, the FSC chairman and nominee to deputy prime minister for economy, as he vowed to maintain self-governing management system at the bank centering the multi-shareholders in the future.

Korea Deposit Insurance, Woori Bank’s largest stakeholder with 51.06 percent shares, will sign contracts with the winners of the auction on November 28 and carry out follow-up measures including terminating the memorandum of understanding between Woori Bank and Korea Deposit Insurance on management normalization program as soon as the sale procedures are completed.

The Korean government had tried to sell off state-owned Woori Bank in a whole piece since 2010 but resulted in four failed attempts. It revised the measure on privatizing the bank by auctioning off a series of stakes in Woori Bank ranging from 4 to 8 percent earlier this year instead of raising the lump-sum sale value by including management premium.

By Park Joon-hyung

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]