Hyosung on Wednesday embarked on a preliminary screening process to list a new holding company and four subsidiaries that will be spun off on the first-tier stock market Kospi, according to the Korea Exchange.

By no later than June 1 this year, Hyosung will spin off the units, each dedicated to the polyester fiber industry, heavy industries, industrial materials and chemical products, according to a regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service. 

The four subsidiaries will hold a combined 60 percent of Hyosung’s net worth, while the new holding company will own 40 percent.

The spinoff came two decades after four firms -- Hyosung T&C, Hyosung Living Industry, Hyosung Heavy Industries and Hyosung Trading Company -- merged into a corporation in 1998 in the wake of a nationwide financial crisis.

Hyosung is the 58th-largest firm on the Kospi, with 5.2 trillion won ($4.9 billion) in market cap, as of Wednesday’s close.

By Son Ji-hyoung 
(consnow@heraldcorp.com)