Kyobo Life Insurance "Will Not Tolerate Affinity's Hostile M&A Attempt"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Kyobo Life Insurance announced on the 31st that it will not tolerate the hostile takeover attempt by the private equity fund Affinity Consortium, which is undergoing a management rights dispute.

Kyobo Life Insurance stated that it held the 65th regular general shareholders' meeting on the 30th at the Kyobo Life Insurance Building in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

At the shareholders' meeting held the previous day, all agenda items, including the appointment of outside directors, appointment of audit committee members, approval of the 2021 fiscal year financial statements, approval of the appropriation of retained earnings, and approval of the 2022 fiscal year director remuneration limit, were passed as originally proposed.

However, unlike other years' shareholders' meetings, it was reported that legal representatives from Affinity Consortium (Affinity, IMM, Baring, GIC) and Apalma Capital each attended the meeting.

During the resolution of the agenda, they reportedly accused Chairman Shin Chang-jae of Kyobo Life Insurance and some executives of breach of trust, claiming that the company was unjustly involved in the shareholder management rights dispute.

In this regard, some shareholders argued, "Financial investors (FI) are rather causing disputes and nitpicking, infringing on the interests of other shareholders," and "What shareholders want most is for the initial public offering (IPO) to be completed swiftly in the first half of the year."

In response, Kyobo Life Insurance emphasized, "Since the start of the put option dispute in October 2018, speculative capital aiming for management rights through illegal means has clearly revealed its intentions at the shareholders' meeting," adding, "As the essence of the shareholder management rights dispute is the greed to carry out a hostile M&A of Kyobo Life Insurance, the company will take all measures to restore its honor and trust."

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