Hana’s KEB takeover deal temporarily put on hold

The FSC plans to end the Lone Star chief Paul Yoo’s stock manipulation case within the month.

Hana Financial’s takeover of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) has been delayed but not for long with a top regulator already promising to make a decision this month. 

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) did not discuss Lone Star Funds’ eligibility as a KEB major shareholder at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman confirmed that a decision will be made at its next meeting to be held in two weeks or during an emergency meeting.

"We did not put the Lone Star case on the table this time,” an FSC spokesman said. “We set up a plan to end the Lone Star case in April. We will follow it.” 

FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong told reporters last week that action would be taken on the Texan buyout fund case within this month. 

Lone Star’s eligibility as the major shareholder of KEB has been a hot issue as the Supreme Court overturned a high court decision on March 10, which had cleared the fund’s Korean unit chief Paul Yoo of stock manipulation allegation. Yoo was suspected of being involved in manipulating stock prices of KEB’s credit card subsidiary in 2003 to enable Lone Star to buy it cheaply. 

View the full story in The Korean Times.