Eugene Group acquires dominant stake in YTN

Eugene Group, a construction and finance conglomerate, will become the largest shareholder of YTN news broadcaster with a 30.95% stake, after winning the bid for $237 million.

Local news broadcaster YTN's headquarters in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Monday. [NEWS1]

Eugene Group, a mid-sized conglomerate focused on construction and finance, will become the largest shareholder of local news broadcaster YTN with a dominant stake of 30.95 percent.

The concrete maker won the bid on Monday to acquire the largest stake auctioned off by two state-run organizations, Korea Electric Power Knowledge, Data & Network (Kepco KDN) and Korea Racing Authority, which held the combined stake in YTN. Kepco KDN possessed 21.43 percent and Korea Racing Authority held 9.53 percent.

The bidding price suggested by Eugene Group was 320 billion won ($237 million). The two other candidates that participated in the bid were Hanse, a local fashion company, and One Korea Media Holdings. The latter was established by Moon Hyun-jin, the third son of religious leader Moon Sun-myung, the founder of the Unification Church, with the purpose of acquiring the local news outlet.

The auction took place at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel in central Seoul, led by the accounting firm Samil PwC.

Eugene Group has over 50 affiliates in construction, real estate development, entertainment and finance.

Eugene Group is expected to officially acquire the stake early next year after receiving approval from the two institutions’ boards and signing the acquisition deal. The company also needs to report the ownership transition to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) within 30 days after inking the deal, in accordance with the Broadcasting Act. The KCC committee will then approve the acquisition within 60 days, evaluating the potential stakeholder based on public interest, social credibility and financial abilities.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]