[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Samyang Foods has fully liquidated its treasury shares, securing nearly KRW 100 billion in cash. The move comes as the Democratic Party pushes a third amendment to the Commercial Act that would mandate the cancellation of treasury shares, prompting companies to reassess their holdings.

According to a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service on the 25th, Samyang Foods sold 74,887 treasury shares (0.99%) on November 20 at KRW 1,326,875 per share, reflecting a 3.5% discount to the previous day’s closing price. The shares were sold via a block deal to three overseas institutional investors: Viridian Asset Management, Jump Trading, and Weiss Asset Management.

The transaction yielded KRW 99.4 billion in proceeds. Except for 409 fractional shares generated during past stock-split–related procedures, the majority of the shares had been acquired in 2022 for roughly KRW 6.8 billion, enabling the company to realize an estimated KRW 93 billion in gains. With the stock price rising from KRW 90,000–100,000 at the time of purchase to the KRW 1.3 million range today, Samyang Foods captured a 14.6x return.

Industry analysts say the sale was primarily aimed at securing investment capital. While the company cited “strengthening financial soundness” as one motivation, Samyang Foods is not facing immediate financial pressure. It has KRW 3.129 trillion in cash, more than enough to cover the KRW 50 billion corporate bond maturing next April. The KRW 122.1 billion in short-term borrowings as of September is also considered manageable.

Samyang Foods plans to use the newly secured capital to expand key production facilities, including its manufacturing operations in China.

 

 

 

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