Hanwha Group is set to expand into naval shipbuilding
DSME has been struggling financially for years, and Hanwha Group is set to take a major stake in the shipbulder. (Photo: DSME)
Hanwha is broadening its portfolio, with a bid to take a controlling stake in shipbuilder DSME likely to proceed.
Hanwha Group of South Korea announced on 26 September that it had signed a conditional MoU to take a managerial controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
This was a preliminary agreement to secure a 49.3% stake – worth some KRW2 trillion ($1.4 billion) – in the debt-ridden South Korean shipbuilder.
However, the agreement requires that no other competitive bidder better Hanwha’s offer before a deadline of 17 October.
In 2021, the ailing DSME suffered operating losses amounting to KRW1.7 trillion, and nearly KRW600 billion in the first half of this year. A 51-day strike by DSME subcontracted
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