Samsung adamant that Everland will not be listed

Samsung Group has reiterated that it has no intention of listing Samsung Everland, the group’s theme park affiliate and de facto holding company, on the local bourse in the near future.

Speculation that Korea’s largest business conglomerate will seek to list the company sooner or later has been mounting for the last six months, but the rumor mill started grinding with renewed vigor recently ahead of plans to sell a minor stake in the company.

“We have no intention of listing the shares of Samsung Everland for a number of years,” a Samsung official told Korean media yesterday.

The Korea Student Aid Foundation plans to sell its 4.25 percent stake in Samsung Everland later this week through a competitive bid.

As rumors surfaced that the group may seek to list the company, there have been reports that investors may drive the bid prices up excessively high in search of huge profits later on.

More than just a de facto holding company, Samsung Everland is a key cog in the so-called “cross-shareholding” power structure of Samsung Group, which is why the prospect of its initial public offering is so tantalizing to investors.

Under the complicated structure of ownership, the children of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee hold a majority stake of the company, which holds a 19.3 percent stake in Samsung Life Insurance. The insurer owns 7.5 percent of Samsung Electronics, which controls 35.3 percent of Samsung Card, which holds an 8.6 percent stake in Samsung Everland.

By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr]