South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has completed its foreign investment security review and conditionally approved the sale of Hyundai LNG Shipping to Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group, acting through its Frontier Resources subsidiary, Splash247 reported. The sellers, a consortium of IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment, are targeting November 23 to complete the transaction, nearly a year after signing and after months of delay over national energy security concerns; the price is about 400 billion won (275 million dollars), with enterprise value including debt estimated at 3.8 trillion won (2.6 billion dollars).
Hyundai LNG Shipping operates 12 LNG carriers and six LPG carriers and holds long term transportation contracts with state owned Korea Gas Corporation. Korean shipowners opposed the foreign takeover, warning it could undermine national energy security, while Sinar Mas has pledged to maintain Korean flag operations and protect existing employment; completion would let IMM exit an investment it has held for 12 years, since the carrier was carved out of Hyundai Merchant Marine in 2014.