Hanjin KAL Corporation's Largest Shareholder Shifts from Chairman Walter Cho's Side to Hoban Construction's Side

[Financial News] Hanjin KAL Corporation's largest shareholder has shifted from Chairman Walter Cho's side to Hoban Construction's side.
Hoban Construction affiliates increased their stake through open-market purchases, surpassing the holding ratio of the existing largest shareholder's side. However, Hoban Construction disclosed that the purpose of its stake acquisition was investment only, and said it had no plans to appoint or dismiss executives.
Hanjin KAL Corporation said on the 4th, in a disclosure on the change in its largest shareholder, that the position had shifted from Walter Cho and 18 others, the previous largest shareholders, to Hoban Construction and three others.
After the change, the Hoban Construction side held 13,814,053 shares, representing a 20.69% stake. Walter Cho and 18 others, the previous largest shareholders, held 13,738,919 shares, representing a 20.58% stake. The Hoban Construction side secured its position as the largest shareholder by taking a 0.11-percentage-point lead in terms of its stake.
The change in the largest shareholder resulted from Hoban Industry's open-market purchases. Hoban Industry previously held 112,145 shares (0.17%), but increased its holdings to 471,524 shares (0.71%). Its stake thus increased by 359,379 shares. The number of shares held by Hoban Construction, Hoban, and Hoban Hotel & Resort remained unchanged.
Specifically, Hoban Construction holds 7,676,827 shares (11.50%), Hoban Hotel & Resort holds 5,566,702 shares (8.34%), and Hoban holds 99,000 shares (0.15%). Including Hoban Industry's stake, the holdings of Hoban-related parties total 20.69%.
However, it is difficult to interpret this stake increase as a move to take control of the company. According to the disclosure, the Hoban Construction side acquired the stake for investment purposes only. The method of financing the acquisition was not separately specified, and the disclosure said there were no plans to appoint or dismiss executives after the acquisition.
Hanjin KAL Corporation explained that this disclosure would serve as the definitive disclosure in place of its “Explanation Regarding Rumors or Media Reports (Unconfirmed),” submitted on the 2nd. The change in largest shareholder was confirmed on November 3, and the balance certificate provided by Hoban Construction had a reference date of November 2.

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