Lee Jae-woong, the largest shareholder and former CEO of SOCAR, a public offering company in the securities market, will initiate a tender offer. This move is interpreted as a preemptive measure against potential management disputes with LOTTE Rental, the second-largest shareholder of SOCAR.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 14th, Lee Jae-woong, the founder of SOCAR, announced that his personal company, SOQR, will publicly offer to purchase 171,429 shares of SOCAR (0.52% of the total issued shares) at 17,500 won per share.
The tender offer period is 20 days, from today until April 2. The tender offer price is 17,500 won per share, which represents a premium of about 23.15% compared to the previous closing price of 14,210 won. The tender offer will be managed by Mirae Asset Securities.
SOQR plans to purchase all offered shares if the number of shares submitted for the tender offer is less than the planned purchase quantity. If the number of offered shares exceeds the planned purchase quantity, purchases will be made proportionally.
Currently, SOQR holds 19.20% of SOCAR's equity. After the completion of the tender offer, the ownership percentage will increase to 19.72%. When considering the 9.99% equity owned by former CEO Lee and the 2.98% held by current CEO Park Jae-wook, along with amounts held by related parties and allies, the total equity ownership by Lee's side will reach the 45% range.
Former CEO Lee has steadily increased his SOCAR equity to preemptively block the possibility of hostile takeovers. It appears he felt threatened by LOTTE Rental, the second-largest shareholder, which holds 25.73% equity.
LOTTE Rental acquired 3,866,075 shares (11.81%) from a financial investor that participated in SOCAR's pre-IPO (private investment in public equity) back in March 2022. Following that, SK Holdings decided to buy back its shares in two rounds, intensifying the equity competition. Currently, SK Holdings retains 8.95% of SOCAR's equity.
SOQR stated in the tender offer report, "We aim to create an environment where the current management can exercise responsible management, and based on this, enhance SOCAR's business competitiveness and corporate value."