Hahn & Co. said Wednesday that it will distribute shares of its portfolio company Namyang Dairy Products to employees as part of a shared growth initiative rarely seen in Korea’s private equity industry.
Namyang Dairy’s board has approved a plan to allocate treasury shares totaling 1.6 billion won ($1.16 million) to employees. Under the plan, all 1,546 employees of Namyang Dairy will be eligible for the shares valued at about 1.08 million won each, as of Wednesday's closing price.
“The decision to grant treasury shares was made to recognize the employees who helped Namyang Dairy swiftly return to profit, overcoming the risks associated with the previous owner, and to share the growth of corporate value," Hahn & Co. said in a statement.
In January last year, Hahn & Co. secured control over Namyang Dairy, following a Supreme Court ruling, after years of legal disputes with the former owner. It owned a 61.8 percent stake in the dairy company as of the end of the first quarter.
Under the wings of the private equity firm, Namyang Dairy swung to a profit in the third quarter last year marking its first quarterly profit in four years, and has remained profitable for three consecutive quarters.
Separately, Namyang Dairy is set to retire 131,346 treasury shares, amounting to roughly 9.8 billion won in efforts to boost shareholder value.
Founded in 2010, Hahn & Co. is a big-name private equity firm based in Korea, managing companies with combined assets of roughly 42 trillion won and generating aggregate annual revenue of about 23 trillion won.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
