South Korea’s Harim Group is all set to become the 13th largest player in the country by assets after completing its acquisition of HMM Co., Korea’s largest shipping line and sole ocean container liner.

In the 2023 list of companies subject to disclosure compiled by the Fair Trade Commission in May, Harim Holdings Co. ranked 27th with about 17 trillion won ($13.05 billion) in fair asset value.

For its part, HMM ranked 19th on the list with fair assets of 25.8 trillion won. The company was in 25th place with 17.8 trillion won in fair assets last year but grew its asset size by about 8 trillion won as shipping freight rates increased due to severe congestion at major ports after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, thus increasing profits.

With the acquisition, Harim Holdings will take a quantum leap to surpass CJ Group with 42.8 trillion won in fair assets and rank 13th after KT Corp. with 45.9 trillion won. The feat comes 45 years after Harim Group Chairman Kim Hong-kuk founded Hwangdung Farm in 1978 in Iksan City, North Jeolla Province. Hanjin Group, Kakao Corp., and LS Corp. will follow Harim Group in terms of fair asset rankings.

Harm Holdings will lay the foundation to become a comprehensive logistics company after acquiring HMM and the earlier acquisition of bulk shipping company Pan Ocean Co. Pan Ocean is the top bulk carrier in Korea, operating 301 bulk carriers in the first half of this year and transporting 100 million tons of cargo around the world annually.

Some industry insiders are re-examining Kim’s achievements as he builds a Top 20 company via a series of critical mergers and acquisitions (M&As), including the latest HMM deal.

Harim Holdings acquired feed producers Jeil Feed Co. and Farmsco Co. in 2001 and 2008 respectively. It acquired Allen Family Foods Inc., then the world’s 19th-largest chicken company based in the United States, in 2011, to enter the U.S. market.

By Ahn Byung-joon and Choi Jieun

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