Woori Financial Group Fully Privatized After 23 Years... New Shareholders Include Eugene PE and Dunamu

Announcement of Final Bidding Results for the Sale of Remaining Shares of Woori Financial Group This Afternoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Woori Financial Group will be ‘fully privatized’ 23 years after the injection of public funds. Eugene PE, a private equity fund (PEF) affiliated with Eugene Group, and Dunamu, the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, will become new shareholders.

According to financial authorities on the 22nd, the Public Fund Management Committee (PFMC) under the Financial Services Commission will announce the results of the ‘Woori Financial Group remaining shares sale final bidding’ in the afternoon and reveal the new shareholders of Woori Financial Group.

Eugene PE is expected to acquire a 4% stake in Woori Financial Group and secure the right to recommend outside directors as an incentive. Additionally, Dunamu, KTB Asset Management, Align Partners, and Woori Financial Group’s employee stock ownership association are known to share stakes of around 1-2%. Initially, Hoban Construction, Harim, Korea Investment Financial Group, and ST International (formerly Samtan) also participated in the final bidding for the remaining shares of Woori Financial Group.

Once the sale process is completed within the year, Woori Financial Group will be fully privatized 23 years after the injection of public funds. During the recovery process following the 1997 foreign exchange crisis, 12.7663 trillion KRW of public funds were injected into Woori Financial Group. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) held a 15.13% stake in Woori Financial Group but began selling 10% of its shares through a competitive bidding process according to the ‘Woori Financial Group remaining shares sale roadmap’ announced in 2019.

After this share sale is completed, KDIC’s stake in Woori Financial Group, which was the largest shareholder, will decrease to 5.13%. The current shareholding structure of Woori Financial Group includes KDIC, the National Pension Service (9.8%), Woori Financial Group’s employee stock ownership association (8.75%), IMM PE (5.62%), Fubon Life (4%), Korea Investment & Securities (3.77%), and Kiwoom Securities (3.76%).

The financial industry is evaluating the strong interest from many companies participating in the bidding to become new shareholders in the remaining shares sale of Woori Financial Group as a ‘successful turnout.’

Among the nine investors participating in the final bidding for the remaining shares, seven submitted bids exceeding the pre-approved price set by the PFMC. The bid proposals amounted to 1.73 times the maximum sale volume (10%). Compared to other financial holding companies, Woori Financial Group has fewer outside directors, so the right to recommend outside directors provided as an incentive to those acquiring more than 4% of shares is interpreted as attracting investors. The fact that Woori Financial Group recorded its highest-ever performance this year and is expected to continuously increase dividends is also an attractive factor.

The PFMC’s criteria for selecting successful bidders this time considered not only price factors but also non-price factors. A PFMC official stated, “When recovering public funds, we consider the three major principles of maximizing public fund recovery, rapid privatization, and the desirable development direction of the domestic financial industry according to the Financial Holding Companies Act. Considering that this sale is for remaining shares, the reflection ratio of non-price factors will be evaluated according to objective standards and procedures set by the PFMC.”

Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group’s stock price has risen about 24% over two months since the sale announcement. The closing price on the announcement day, September 9, was around 10,800 KRW, but as of 9:30 a.m. today, it is trading at 13,150 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.