Hanwha Corporation (000880.KS), the holding company of Hanwha Group, will be split into a surviving entity centered on defense, shipbuilding, marine, energy and finance, and a newly established company for its tech and life divisions.
Hanwha said on the 15th that its extraordinary shareholders' meeting approved the spin-off plan with a 99.95% approval rate.
Through the spin-off, tech-sector affiliates including Hanwha Vision, Hanwha Momentum and Hanwha Robotics, along with life-sector affiliates such as Hanwha Galleria (452260.KS) and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, will be transferred to the newly established company, "Hanwha Machinery & Service Holdings."
Defense, shipbuilding, marine, energy and finance affiliates including Hanwha Aerospace (012450.KS), Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS), Hanwha Solutions (009830.KS) and Hanwha Life Insurance will remain with the surviving entity.
The split ratio is 0.7563533 for the surviving entity and 0.2436467 for the newly established company, based on net asset book value. Existing shareholders will be allocated shares in the surviving entity and the newly established company according to the split ratio.
The spin-off date is August 1. On the 25th of the same month, Hanwha plans to proceed with the modified listing of the surviving entity and the re-listing of the newly established company.
Industry observers expect the move to accelerate the separation of business units among the group's third-generation members and to make clearer the group succession structure of eldest son Kim Dong-kwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group. This is because the business divisions among the three brothers have become clearer, while Kim's control over Hanwha Corporation has grown.
Kim oversees the defense, shipbuilding and energy divisions. Second son Kim Dong-won, president of Hanwha Life Insurance, oversees the finance division, while third son Kim Dong-seon, executive vice president, oversees the tech and life divisions.
"We will further enhance the expertise and competitiveness of each business to pursue continuous growth," Kim Woo-suk, CEO of Hanwha Corporation, stressed at the shareholders' meeting. "By establishing a foundation for each business to be more clearly evaluated for its value and growth potential, we will contribute to enhancing long-term corporate value and shareholder value."
Meanwhile, Hanwha explained that it will be able to establish management strategies tailored to the characteristics and environment of each business group and enable faster decision-making.
