[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has begun an investigation into MBK Partners, the major shareholder of Homeplus. This marks the first time that the FSS has launched an inspection of a domestic private equity firm (PEF) in relation to a specific incident.
FSS Chairman Lee Bok-hyeon also expressed support for Samsung SDI’s capital increase plan and stated that the revision of the Commercial Act, which includes the duty of directors to act in good faith for shareholders, should not face a veto.
In a press conference held on Wednesday at the FSS headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Chairman Lee confirmed, "In order to verify the suspicions surrounding the Homeplus situation, the Financial Investment Inspection Bureau has initiated an investigation into MBK, the key party involved."
The main focus of the investigation includes: the timing when MBK became aware of Homeplus's credit downgrade, the timing of Homeplus’s restructuring application, allegations of fraudulent transactions during the issuance and sale of short-term electronic bonds, and whether investors (LPs) like the National Pension Service suffered any harm during the process of transferring redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS).
The FSS has set up a task force (TF) under the leadership of the Capital Markets and Accounting Vice Chairman, Ham Yong-il, to handle both the inspection and disclosure investigation as part of its key tasks for the first half of the year.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
