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Financial Times says that Britain’s top bank is getting tired of waiting
May 27, 2008
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| HSBC may scrap the plan on $6.2 billion purchase of Korea Exchange Bank from Lone Star if the Korean government does not approve the deal soon, the Financial Times reported yesterday, without exactly identifying the source. “Sentiment is finely balanced but HSBC would likely look . . . elsewhere if there is no movement,” said one person familiar with the bank’s thinking, according to the newspaper. Following the report, a HSBC spokeswoman said on the phone that Simon Cooper, HSBC Korea’s president and chief executive, delivered similar message. He said, “HSBC is committed to the acquisition, but we can’t wait forever.” Korea Exchange Bank declined to comment. A visit this week to the U.K. by members of the new Korean government may help to move the deal along, the Financial Times also said. “The delegation includes Jun Kwang-woo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, who is expected to meet with Alistair Darling, U.K. chancellor,” the report said. But the Financial Services Commission yesterday said in a statement regarding the news that Chairman Jun’s official schedule does not include meeting with the chancellor. He told said in press conferences in April that the government hoped for a smooth and quick resolution to the pending KEB deal. HSBC extended a deadline for buying control of the nation’s sixth-largest bank from buyout fund Lone Star Funds on April 29 amid a criminal probe into Lone Star. The latest deadline is Ju July 31, although the Financial Times report miswrote it as at the end of June. A collapse of what would be the biggest foreign acquisition in Korea could hurt President Lee Myung-bak’s promise to boost foreign investment. HSBC, Europe’s largest bank by market value, agreed in September to buy control of Korea Exchange. By Seo Ji-eun Staff Reporter [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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