http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-29/samsung-s-cheil-said-to-plan-gauging-demand-for-1-5-billion-ipo.html
By Fox Hu and Joyce Koh Oct 29, 2014 3:48 PM ET
Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding company of Samsung Group (005930), plans to start gauging demand next week for an initial public offering in South Korea, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The theme park operator’s share sale may raise about $1.5 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The IPO would be the country’s biggest in more than four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Cheil’s offering will help the founding family of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate cover inheritance taxes and comply with tighter government limits on conglomerates. Since 72-year-old patriarch Lee Kun Hee was hospitalized in May, Samsung Group has announced the merger of shipbuilding and engineering affiliates and applied to take its network technology businessSamsung SDS Co. (018260) public.
Park Hyung Geun, a spokesman for Cheil, declined to comment on the IPO plan. Cheil applied in September for a listing on South Korea’s main bourse, without providing details such as the size of the offering.
Cheil, formerly known as Samsung Everland Inc., is an operator of zoos, golf courses and theCaribbean Bay, billed as one of the world’s largest water parks.
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The company sits atop the Samsung Group through direct and indirect stakes in key affiliates including Samsung Electronics Co., the maker of Galaxy smartphones, and Samsung Life Insurance Co. It’s also central to the group’s succession planning because Lee’s only son, 46-year-old Lee Jae Yong, is the biggest shareholder with a 25 percent stake.
To contact the reporters on this story: Fox Hu in Hong Kong atfhu7@bloomberg.net; Joyce Koh in Singapore atjkoh38@bloomberg.net
