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Hanwha buying 9.9 percent of Australian shipbuilder Austal, term sheet says

Published: 17 Mar. 2025, 18:29 Updated: 17 Mar. 2025, 20:25

Hanwha Ocean's dockyard [HANWHA OCEAN]

Korea's Hanwha acquired up to 9.9 percent of Austal on Monday in an aftermarket offer after a failed bid to take over the Australian shipbuilder for 102 billion Australian dollars ($65 billion) last year, according to a term sheet.

Hanwha paid around 4.45 Australian dollars each for 41.2 million Austal shares, according to the term sheet seen by Reuters.

A message sent by the deal's bookrunners said books had been covered for the transaction.

The Korean company does not intend to make a takeover bid for Austal "at this time", the term sheet showed.

Hanwha and Austal did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The offer price represents a 16.2% premium to Austal's closing share price on Monday of A$3.83.

Hanwha did not hold any direct ownership of Austal before the after-market offer, the term sheet showed, though it does hold a 9.9% interest through a cash-settled total return swap.

The Korean company intends to apply for Australian foreign regulatory approval to take its shareholding to 19.9%, the term sheet showed.

Hanwha Group is South Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate with 112 trillion won ($77.33 billion) in assets spanning the energy, defense and financial industries.

Reuters