Woori Financial Group Sells Remaining Stakes to 5 Companies Including Eugene PE... Recovers Approximately 897.7 Billion KRW of Public Funds

Woori Financial Group Achieves Full Privatization After 23 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] The remaining shares of Woori Financial Group will be sold to Eugene Private Equity (Eugene PE), KTB Asset Management, Align Partners, Dunamu, and the Woori Financial Group employee stock ownership association. Through this sale, approximately 897.7 billion KRW of public funds will be recovered, and Woori Financial Group will be fully privatized 23 years after the injection of public funds.

On the 22nd, the Public Fund Management Committee (PFMC) under the Financial Services Commission announced that it had finalized the selection of five winning bidders through the resolution of the 'Decision on the Winning Bidders for the Sale of Remaining Shares of Woori Financial Group.' The total sale volume is 9.3%, and all winning bidders' bid prices exceeded 13,000 KRW per share.

Eugene PE will acquire a 4% stake in Woori Financial Group and secure the right to recommend an outside director as an incentive. In addition, KTB Asset Management (2.3%), Align Partners Consortium (1%), Dunamu (1%), and the Woori Financial Group employee stock ownership association (1%) were selected as winning bidders.

The winning bid price (average in the mid-13,000 KRW range) significantly exceeds the block sale price per share in April this year (10,335 KRW) and the principal recovery price (12,056 KRW). It is expected that approximately 897.7 billion KRW of public funds will be recovered through this sale. Accordingly, if the remaining shares (5.8%) are sold at 10,193 KRW or more in the future, the entire amount of public funds invested in Woori Financial Group can be recovered.

If the sale process is completed by the 9th of next month, Woori Financial Group will be fully privatized as private shareholders become the largest shareholders 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, and according to the 'Woori Financial Group Remaining Shares Sale Roadmap' announced in 2019, a competitive bidding process was conducted to sell 10% of KDIC's shares.

Once this share sale is completed, KDIC’s stake in Woori Financial Group, which was the largest shareholder, will decrease to 5.8%, losing its largest shareholder status and becoming the third-largest shareholder after the employee stock ownership association and the National Pension Service.

Although new major shareholders have been added through this sale, the governance structure centered on existing major shareholders is expected to be maintained. Currently, the Woori Financial Group board consists of 2 inside directors, 5 outside directors, and 1 non-standing director (total 8 members), but with this sale, one outside director (recommended by Eugene PE) will be added, and one non-standing director (recommended by KDIC) will be removed. The outside director recommended by Eugene PE will be appointed at the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for January, and KDIC’s right to appoint the non-standing director will be lost after the current director’s term expires in March next year.

A PFMC official stated, "Considering future stock price trends and supply-demand conditions at the time of sale, we plan to promptly complete the sale of KDIC’s remaining shares."

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