Creditors to sell 11 pct stake in Hyundai Engineering

SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- Creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. plan
to unload an 11 percent stake in South Korea's third-largest builder through
block sales, financial sources said Thursday, a move to accelerate the sale of
the company.
The nine creditors, led by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), agreed to reduce their
combined stakes to 35 percent from 49.6 percent in the construction firm,
according to the sources.
Out of a 14.6 percent stake which could be sold, seven of the creditors agreed to
sell 11 percent or 12.4 million shares in the builder in block trading, while two
others including the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) decided not to join
the block sales.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Samsung Securities Co. and Macquarie were picked to manage
the sales, according to the sources.
Market watchers estimated the creditors would sell the builder at a 4 to 6
percent discount from Thursday's closing prices. Shares of Hyundai Engineering
closed flat at 65,000 won (US$51.5).
KEB holds the largest stake of 12.4 percent in the builder, followed by KDB with
11.2 percent and Woori Bank with 10.6 percent.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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