Korea Line Corp's board has blocked the company’s bid for Hanjin Shipping assets.
In a meeting earlier today, the board refused to approve plans to acquire the US-Asia assets of the bankrupt Korean company.
Yonhap reports that stakeholders opposed the acquisition due to concerns over Korea Line’s inexperience in the container shipping industry.
Korea Line, which filed for bankruptcy protection five years ago and was bought by SM Group in 2013 after restructuring, owns mostly bulkers along with a few LNG carriers.
Deal could still go through
Despite the board’s refusal, the acquisition of the Hanjin assets could still go through.
“There is a clause stipulating that a separate corporate body can still acquire the asset when the proposal is turned down at a stakeholders meeting,” a group official said.
Korea Line beat Huyndai Merchant Marine (HMM) in the race to acquire Hanjin’s US-Asia network last year.
As TradeWinds reported earlier today, HMM has formed a consortium with compatriots Heung-A and Sinokor on intra-Asian containership services.
Hanjin's compatriots have stepped in to fill the gaps created by its collapse, which started late last summer.
