Hanwha Ocean Affiliate Sells $1 Billion Stake After Stock Triples
(Bloomberg) -- A Hanwha Ocean Co. affiliate sold its stake in the South Korean shipbuilder, raising about 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion), after the company’s shares more than tripled over the past year.
Hanwha Impact Partners Inc., a US-based investment firm wholly owned by two Hanwha companies, will use the proceeds to help advance Korea’s shipbuilding collaborations with the US, including the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again project, and also for US liquefied natural gas investments, Hanwha Group said in a statement. It will also help the South Korean conglomerate reduce debt, it said.
The transaction, one of the largest block sales in Asia this year, sent Hanwha Ocean shares tumbling as much as 7.4% in Seoul on Friday. The sale involved the disposal of 13 million shares at 107,100 won each, or 9.9% below the stock’s previous close, according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg.
The deal comes as Korean shipbuilders gain global prominence, with the US expected to lean more heavily on its Asian ally to upgrade naval capabilities. The sector has become a symbol of the bilateral alliance, highlighted during President Lee Jae Myung’s first summit with President Donald Trump, where Seoul pitched MASGA. Hanwha Ocean has already bought a former Navy yard in Philadelphia and pledged $5 billion of investment.
It represented the latest profit-taking sale of the Korean shipbuilder by its major holders after the stock price more than tripled over the past year as global attention grew on South Korean shipyards.
The sale, managed by Citigroup Inc., also revives concerns about an overhang on the stock. State-owned Korea Development Bank trimmed its stake in April and still holds more than 15%.
“There could be further downside pressure from KDB,” said Eon Hwang at Nomura Securities Co., one of just two analysts with a sell rating on the stock. “We think Hanwha Ocean’s valuation is already reflecting the best case of the US naval opportunity.”
Hanwha Energy owns 52% in Hanwha Impact and Hanwha Solutions controls 48%.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
