Seoul Media Holdings (Hoban Construction subsidiary) to acquire 28.18% of Seoul Shinmun for KRW 60bn

SI TMT Newspaper and media

Not yet reviewed: summarised from filings and press reports; figures may differ between reports. Please check the original sources.

Deal value: $41m
Stake: 28.18%
Implied 100%: $147m
Revenue: —
Op. income: —
Multiples: —

Target: Seoul Shinmun · Newspaper and media
Buyer: Seoul Media Holdings (Hoban Construction subsidiary) · SI
Seller: Seoul Shinmun employee stock ownership association
Structure: —
Announced: Oct 12, 2021
Closed: —
Stage: Announced

Target

Seoul Shinmun is a daily newspaper founded in 1904. In 2021 its shareholders were the Ministry of Economy and Finance (30.49%), the employee stock ownership association (29.01%), Hoban Construction (19.40%, bought from POSCO in 2019) and KBS (8.08%); annual revenue was reported at about KRW 77-78 billion.

Deal rationale

On 7 July 2021 Hoban Construction sent the employee association a letter offering to buy all its Seoul Shinmun shares for KRW 51 billion (KRW 30 billion for shares plus KRW 21 billion in special compensation for 420 staff), saying it hoped all employees would decide through transparent, fair deliberation and pledging editorial independence, no restructuring, staged pay rises and about KRW 2.5 billion annual investment to reach top-five daily status within five years (Journalists Association of Korea). The offer later totaled KRW 60 billion including compensation, 56% of staff agreed, and Seoul Media Holdings disclosed on 12 October 2021 the acquisition of 28.18%, becoming the largest shareholder with 47.58%. Reports said Chairman Kim Sang-yeol intended to leave group management to his children and focus on media.

신사업 진출

Press coverage

한국기자협회보 (2021-11-09): “특별위로금(1인당 평균 7500만원) 등 600억원을 내밀었고, 서울신문 구성원 56%가 동의했다”
한국기자협회보 (2021-07-08): “우리사주조합 보유지분 29%를 300억원에 매입하고, 전임직원에게 특별위로금 210억원”

This is a data entry summarising filings and press reports. Please check the original sources for the figures.