Korea Line’s Shareholders Reject Purchase of Hanjin Assets

The shareholders of the South Korean shipping company Korea Line Corp., part of SM Group, have refused to approve the purchase of Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route network, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Namely, the proposal to buy the route network and the bankrupt Korean carrier’s client information related to the route was rejected during the company’s shareholders meeting.
The move comes less than two months after Korea Line Corp signed the KRW 37 billion purchase deal, which included Hanjin’s subsidiaries and logistics management systems in seven countries, covering the US, China and Vietnam.
According to Korea Line’s stock exchange filing, the company expected the asset sale to be finalized on January 5, 2017.
The company was selected as the preferred bidder for Hanjin’s Asia-US route network and for the firm’s stake in a container terminal at California’s Long Beach in early November as it outbid its compatriot Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), after both companies submitted their final proposals to buy the assets.
However, Korea Line decided to withdraw from the race for Hanjin’s 54% stake in terminal operator Total Terminals International (TTI), which operates two facilities in Long Beach and Seattle, in early December.
The share was estimated to be worth around KRW 400 billion (USD 342.5 million).