OCI-Hanmi Pharm merger killed with board vote ending family feud

Industry

Published: 28 Mar. 2024, 17:56

OCI-Hanmi Pharm merger killed with board vote ending family feud

Shown in the photo is the interior of the venue for the general shareholder meeting of Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, which was held on Thursday in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

The merger between OCI Holdings, a solar company, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, one of Korea's major pharmaceutical firms, has fallen through.

The call-off came on Thursday as the eldest son of the controlling family behind Hanmi and his allies emerged as the winner of the family feud against his sister and mother during the pharmaceutical company’s general shareholder meeting.

“We humbly accept the will of [Hanmi Pharm] shareholders, and the merger process will be halted,” said OCI Holdings in a statement issued after the shareholder meeting of Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharm Group.

Lim Jong-yoon, Hanmi Pharm president and the eldest son of the company’s founder, the late Lim Sung-ki, and his brother, Lim Jong-hoon, won the majority vote by shareholders on the appointment of five board members including themselves.

With the brothers and their allies, who opposed the OCI-Hanmi merger, securing a majority on the nine-member board of directors, the merger deal — which was spearheaded by their sister, Lim Joo-hyun, Hanmi Science president and head of business strategy, and their mother Song Yeong-sook, Hanmi Science CEO and the group's chairperson — was called off.

The sister and OCI Holdings CEO Lee Woo-hyun failed to make it onto the board.

In January, a merger plan under which OCI Holdings was to become Hanmi Science’s largest shareholder was announced, with the head of business strategy and her allies becoming OCI’s largest shareholders with their combined stakes.

Retail investors with minor stakes in the company, which accounted for 13.64 percent of total ownership, cast the deciding vote this time, as both sides have been locked in a standstill with the sister and mother gaining favor from shareholders representing 42.67 percent of the stake, including the National Pension Service, and the brothers' 40.56 percent.

The share price of Hanmi Science soared on the stock market following the latest development, gaining 9.1 percent to close at 44,350 won ($32.86).

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]