HHIH agrees to buy 34.97 percent of Doosan Infracore

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings agreed to buy 34.97 percent of Doosan Infracore for 850 billion won ($756 million) on Friday, completing a deal made in the context of Doosan’s restructuring and Hyundai seeking to strengthen its machinery business.

The deal is expected to be finalized in the third quarter, according to the shipbuilder, after it gets the nod from regulatory agencies. Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings bid in a consortium with KDB Investment, a subsidiary of state-owned Korea Development Bank, to purchase the machinery equipment company from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings was seen as a strong candidate to win the bid due to the synergy the target could generate with Hyundai Construction Equipment, Korea's No. 2 construction equipment maker.

Following the acquisition, Hyundai Heavy Industries will operate Infracore as a separate company and maintain its headcount, the builder said in a statement.

“As Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings will own leading machinery manufactures Doosan Infracore and Hyundai Construction Equipment, we’ve brought together a core business portfolio ranging from shipbuilding, petrochemical, construction and machinery.”

The shipbuilder’s Chairman Kwon Oh-gap pledged sufficient investment to grow the company.

“[We] will support investment to develop both companies into top-tier players in the global market and help them nimbly respond to the market needs,” Kwon said in the statement.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]