Top executives of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group ramped up their efforts to garner support from investors for a proposed merger deal between its two affiliates -- Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries -- ahead of a shareholder vote next week.

The group’s latest move was a meeting on Wednesday between Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong and Park Yoo-kyung, an investment adviser at Dutch pension-fund manager APG Asset Management, which owns a 0.3 percent stake in the conglomerate’s construction and trading arm Samsung C&T.

During the closed meeting, the two sides reportedly discussed the merger deal and ways to improve corporate governance of Samsung Group.

Park is also said to have met with Samsung C&T’s co-CEOs Choi Chi-hun and Kim Shin, and top executives of Samsung Group’s future strategy office, a department that plays core roles in making management decisions.
APG Asset Management has been serving as a dialogue channel between Samsung and around 30 foreign investors since dispute over the merger plan started in earnest last month.

The Netherlands-based pension fund operator has expressed regrets over the undervaluation of Samsung C&T’s stocks in the all-share merger deal, but said it would not fully side with Elliott Associates, a U.S. activist hedge fund and a staunch opponent to the merger plan.

Arguing that the swap ratio of one C&T share for 0.35 Cheil Industries share is inappropriate, Elliott filed two injunctions at a Seoul court to block the merger deal and Samsung C&T’s sale of treasury shares to construction firm KCC, which is expected to root for the merger. The Seoul court has rejected both injunctions.

Meanwhile, Korea’s public pension-fund operator National Pension Service, which owns an 11.21 percent stake in C&T, reportedly postponed a scheduled investment meeting Thursday at which the fund officials were anticipated to discuss whether to hand over voting rights to proxy agents.

Samsung C&T shareholders are slated to meet next Friday to vote on Cheil Industries’ merger proposal with C&T.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)