Hanwha Group gets Green Light to Increase Austal Stake
Hanwha Group received the OK from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to increase its shareholding in Australian shipbuilder Austal to 19.9% from the current 9.9%, the South Korean conglomerate said.
Austal, which supplies defence vessels to the U.S. Navy, is seeking independent verification of this approval, according to a separate statement.
Hanwha, which currently holds a 9.9% stake in Austal and holds a further 9.9% economic interest through a cash-settled total return swap, said that CFIUS has also granted approval to increase its stake up to 100%.
Its application with the Australian foreign regulatory authority for the share acquisition is still pending.
However, Austal said that it "understands that the approval granted by CFIUS is different from that claimed by Hanwha" and is requesting written confirmation from CFIUS.
CFIUS did not immediately reply to Reuters' request for comment.
Shares of Austal rose as much as 7.6% to A$6.21 to hit a record high before paring some gains. The benchmark index .AXJO was up 0.7%.
Hanwha will provide Austal access to capital, international relationships and operational expertise that can boost the development of Austal's business, the company said.
The group is South Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate, with 112 trillion won ($77.33 billion) in assets spanning the energy, defence and financial industries.
(Reuters)