South Korean container ship owner SM Line has bought into rival HMM less than two months after pulling an initial public offering (IPO).
The company has revealed it paid $14m for 613,000 shares in its compatriot, a stake of 0.49%.
Container News reported SM sought to downplay any talk that it was seeking to take over HMM, saying it is purely an investment.
The South Korean government has said it is not yet the right time to dispose of its holdings in the container ship and VLCC owner.
State-controlled Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Ocean Business Corporation own a combined 44% of HMM, but this could rise to more than 70% if bonds are converted into equity.
In November, SM Line dropped plans to go public due to weak levels of interest from institutional investors.
The shipowner was hoping to raise up to KRW 846bn ($710m) to help expand its fleet, invest in containers and explore new business opportunities.
The mid-size containership owner was offering 33.8m shares, including 16.9m new shares, at between KRW 18,000 and KRW 25,000 per share.
Short of expectations
But demand from institutional investors fell short of its expectations and the company withdrew its application.
"In the book-building process we found it difficult to receive a proper valuation," the company said in a regulatory filing at the time. "Taking various conditions into account, we agreed with our IPO lead manager to withdraw the plan."
But SM Line has said it may attempt to resurrect its plans in March if market conditions improve.
