KEB sale delayed again
Lone Star’s protracted effort to offload its 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) to Hana Financial Group has been delayed once gain, this time by six months, amid lingering regulatory questions.
According to Reuters, citing the Seoul Economic Daily, Hana is considering buying an initial stake of less than 10% from US-based Lone Star to seal the deal. Should Lone Star succeed in divesting its full holding in KEB for an estimated $4.3 billion, it would represent Korea's largest financial deal to date.
This gravity of the deal has led Korean regulators to seriously consider their blessing. Lone Star first announced its intention to exit the bank in 2006, to domestic player Kookmin Bank for $7 billion. Regulators rejected that transaction, leading Lone Star to relaunch the action process in early 2010.
Since then, players such as MBK Partners and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) have also been in lengthy negotiations with Lone Star to acquire the asset, but regulations and financing hurdles have resulted in Hana Bank being the last-standing bidder.
Lone Star acquired its majority stake in the bank for $1.3 billion in 2003.
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