韓国・現代石化、LGと湖南石化連合の買収決る
韓国の現代石化債権団はこのほど、LG化学と湖南石化の連合を現代石化の売却先に決定した。1月30日にソウルで契約を締結し、債権者集会がこれを承認した。LG化学と湖南石化は今後、公正取引委員会の承認を得て5月に支払いを行う。
現代石化は現代グループの負債増大の結果、2001年にグループから分離され、銀行を中心とした債権団の管理下に置かれ、債権団が韓国内外の多数の相手と売却交渉を行ってきた。最終的にLG化学・湖南石化連合が米国のKoch
Industries Inc.に競り勝った。
LGによると、売却価格は1兆7,400億ウォン(約1,643億円)。うち6,000億ウオンは両社が折半で出資する形をとり、8,000億ウオンは融資、残り3,400億ウォンは5年後に支払うという条件。
現代石化は1988年に現代グループが設立し、韓国西海岸の大山に石化コンビナートを建設した。現在の能力はエチレン2系列で105万トン、LDPE27万5,000トン、LLDPE24万トン、HDPE14万トン、EG37万5,000トン、PP50万トン、SM39万トンなど。
LG化学は麗川にエチレン75万トンのコンビナート、湖南石化も同じく麗川にエチレン70万トンのコンビナートを運営している。湖南石化はロッテグループ系列で、第一化学(三井化学・三井物産・新日本石油化学の共同投資会社)が10%出資している。
なお、LG石化は2000年11月に現代石化から大山のVCM、PVC各20万トンプラントを買収している。
LG化学は買収目的を次のように説明している。
①中国のPVC、ABS事業拡大で不足するエチレン、SM、ブタジェン等の確保
②シェア拡大とナフサ購買力の強化
③最適のタイミング(LGでは世界の石化は2003年から好転するとみている)
現代石化は1998年夏に韓国・全国経済人連合会が主管して進めた五大財閥の構造調整案(いわゆるビッグディール)に基づき大山地区で隣接する三星総合化学との統合計画を進め、一時は三井物産、住友商事を含めた4社で基本合意書を締結したが、出資額で調整がつかず、まとまらなかった。
三星総合化学は昨年12月、仏石油大手トタルフィナ・エルフの化学部門であるアトフィナ社から資本を受け入れる覚書を締結した。2003年3月までに両社の折半出資で新会社を設立し、三星総合化学の設備を新会社に移管する計画。同社の能力はエチレン60万トン、PE40万トン、PP22万トン、SM67万トンほかとなっている。
Acquisition of Hyundai Petrochemical
2003-5-31 Asia Chemical Weekly
LG Chem, Honam jv on Hyundai may be
delayed by KFTC
South Korea's LG Chem and Honam
Petrochemical may face a delay in forming their new joint venture
company to manage recently-acquired Hyundai Petrochemical since
the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) needs more time to ponder
antimonopoly issues and differences that have cropped up between
Hyundai's creditors and its affiliates, an industry source said
on Friday.
The two companies were expected to
have established their new joint venture company by early June.
The proposal for the new joint
venture company is being examined by the KFTC and a senior source
close to the two companies has expressed apprehension about
obtaining the ruling body's ready clearance.
Paul Lee, vice president of LG’s polyethylene division, had earlier said
that in theory the KFTC does not allow any company to own a
domestic market share of more than 50% in any one product. LG
would be left with a 65% market share in styrene if the deal goes
through, with Honam enjoying an ethylene glycol (EG) capacity of
775 000 tonne/year. Its only other domestic competitor would be
Samsung General Chemicals with 110 000 tonne/year.
However, sources said that the the
KFTC is likely to continue to make exceptions to its rules for
the sake of restructuring the South Korean industry so as to
provide the companies there with economies of scale.
Creditors of debt-distressed South
Korean major Hyundai Petrochemical signed a contract worth
Won1.74trn ($1.45bn/Euro1.33bn) with LG Chem and Honam
Petrochemical to give the Korean consortium ownership of Hyundai
in January.
The contract includes a Won600bn
cash payment, which will be split 50:50 by the consortium, a
further Won800bn payment that LG and Honam will borrow from
external financial sources and an additional liability of
Won340bn - to be paid back over a period of five years by the
consortium.
Hyundai's assets have been
independently valued at Won3.3trn and its debts are put at
Won2.3trn. Its assets include two crackers with a total capacity
of 1m tonne/year and downstream PE and PP plants.
LG Chem and Honam are believed to be
prepared to split Hyundai's assets between them, with each
company taking one of the crackers and a number of downstream
plants.
The two companies may expand the
capacities of the two crackers by at least 50%, LG had said
earlier.
If the joint venture partners decide
to go ahead with the expansion, it would add an extra 575 000
tonne/year of ethylene to Hyundai's crackers which currently have
a combined capacity of 1.15m tonne/year.
2003/6/26 Platts
Korea's Honam, LG finalize acquisition of Hyundai Petchem
South Korea's Honam Petrochemical and LG Chem finalized Thursday
their acquisition of Hyundai Petrochemical, LG said in a
statement. Earlier this year, Hyundai and its main creditor,
Woori Bank, agreed on its sale to Honam and LG for Won 1.76
trillion ($1.5-bil).
2003.06.26 LG Chem
Acquisition finalizes over Hyundai Petrochemical
LG Chem, Ltd., the largest chemical company in Korea, announced
today that the acquisition of Hyundai Petrochemical by the
Honam-LG consortium has been finalized.
Hyundai Petrochemical Co. and its major creditor, Woori Bank
signed a final contract to sell the company to the consortium
comprising Honam Petrochemical Corp. and LG Chem, Ltd. for KRWon
1.76 trillion earlier this year.
The Honam-LG consortium said the Korean Fair Trade Commission
(KFTC) approved the deal on the 26th and that the consortium
completed the KRWon 600 billion cash payment, for stock
subscription, to Woori Bank today. The amount of payment was
split 50:50 by the consortium as agreed.
The completion of the deal will give a second chance to the
debt-distressed Hyundai Petrochemical, whose fate was rendered
unpredictable after going through a series of failed attempts to
sell the company. The business operation of the company began to
sink after Korea received IMF bailout.
With the influx of the KRWon 600 billion cash payment and the
debt relief of KRWon 452.8 billion by the creditors, Hyundai
Petrochemical's debt-to-equity ratio will go below 80%, making it
a 'Clean Company.'
"The acquisition, in terms of scale, is the biggest of its
kind in the Asian petrochemical industry, and is another example
of the global trend seeking the economy of scale. The success of
the deal will open a new era not only in the Korean petrochemical
industry but also in that of Asia," an official said.
Honam-LG consortium is expected to benefit greatly from this deal
through an intensified vertical integration of its core
businesses. Moreover, the deal will strengthen the leading
position of the two companies in Korea. "By obtaining the
economy of scale, Honam Petrochemical and LG Chem will surely
enjoy the upcoming cyclical upturn in the petrochemical
business," the official added.
The consortium will run Hyundai petrochemical in a way that will
have a synergetic effect on the existing businesses of the two
companies and increase competitiveness through plant production
specialization, joint purchasing as well as R&D
reinforcement.
朝鮮日報 2003/6/26
LG, Honam to Split Hyundai's Plants
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), the nation's anti-trust
watchdog, has decided to have LG Chemical and Honam Petrochemical
equally split the production facilities of Hyundai
Petrochemical's Daesan plant.
The KFTC decision was made after the two petrochemical firms'
asked the anti-trust organization whether their joint bid to
purchase the Daesan plant would result in a market monopoly.
The KFTC explained that if the two firms acquire Hyundai
Petrochemical, they would occupy more than 70 percent of the
total market share, a market monopoly, for three petrochemical
products: low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density
polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP). As a result, the
KFTC ruled that the firms should divide the production facilities
for the three products after their acquisition.
The consortium of LG Chemical and Honam Petrochemical, a
subsidiary of Lotte Group, signed a deal with the creditors of
Hyundai Petrochemical to acquire the latter firm earlier this
year. The price tag is estimated at W1.778 trillion ($1.5
billion) in cash, with W1.4 trillion paid up-front and the
remainder over five years.
