SM Group completes acquisition of KLC

Samla Midas Group (SM Group) will be the new owner of Korea Line Corporation (KLC), the nation’s fourth-largest shipper, after it signed an acquisition deal yesterday. The group, which specialized in real estate development, was selected as the preferred bidder last month, but the M&A process was delayed after the other bidders, Polaris Shipping and Daelim Corp., filed a lawsuit to review the preferred bidder selection. They claimed that Samil Accounting Corp., which is supervising the sale process, made conditions favorable to SM Group. However, that claim was denied by Seoul Central District Court last week.

SM Group will pay 215 billion won ($198 million) to buy the KLC. Once the payments are made within a month, the KLC will officially leave court receivership, where it has been since 2011.