November 26, 2024

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South Korea’s state-run policy lender Korea Development Bank said Sept. 30 it plans to sell its majority stake in a life insurance unit by 2020 through an open tender.

This is the fourth time it is attempting to sell its stake. Some 88 million common shares of KDB Life Insurance owned by KDB through a private equity fund KDB-Consus Value PEF and a special purpose company will be sold.

These account for over 90 percent of the whole stake. 

According to the current plan, bid managers will accept letters of interest by potential buyers and shortlist them by November. The most preferred bidder will be selected before the year-end, followed by a stock transaction in 2020.

Credit Suisse Securities Seoul branch and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers have been selected as bid managers. The firms that interested in the acquisition include Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman and Seoul-based law firm Lee & Ko.

The policy bank had tried to sell its stake thrice earlier, after acquisition in March 2010 for some 650 billion won ($541.8 million) from petrochemical-to-carrier conglomerate Kumho Asiana Group.

KDB Life Insurance turned around in 2018 with 6.4 billion won net profit, with its risk-based capital ratio jumping twofold to 215 percent. It also carried out a 300 billion won capital increase last year.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)