[비즈한국] On January 23, ISU Petasys007630, an affiliate of the ISU Group, announced it would withdraw its acquisition of J.O.418550, a company specializing in the production of carbon nanotubes (CNT) for secondary batteries. ISU Petasys has already paid a deposit of 15.8125 billion won for the acquisition. The company now faces the risk of losing the deposit without completing the acquisition (Related article: Will They Abandon the Capital Increase That Faced Hurdles? ISU Petasys, the Pros and Cons of Pushing for the J.O Acquisition).
Last November, ISU Petasys announced its intent to acquire J.O and disclosed plans for a 550 billion won rights offering to shareholders to fund the deal. However, the Financial Supervisory Service rejected the company's securities registration statement for the rights offering twice.
ISU Petasys claims that the reason for the withdrawal lies with J.O's largest shareholder, CEO Kang Deuk-ju. Consequently, ISU Petasys is demanding the return of the deposit from CEO Kang.
In a public disclosure, ISU Petasys stated, "Due to the seller's failure to fulfill obligations, grounds for contract termination have arisen, and we have provided notice of the termination of the stock purchase agreement. We have requested the return of the previously paid deposit and will take necessary measures, including filing a lawsuit for the return of the deposit if needed." However, ISU Petasys did not specify exactly which obligations CEO Kang failed to fulfill.
In response, CEO Kang Deuk-ju stated on the company website, "We have faithfully worked toward completing the transaction with the counterparty, even going as far as announcing the holding of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to allow ISU Petasys to join the board." He refuted the claim, saying, "The possibility of finalizing the change in the largest shareholder is uncertain due to the unilateral and unreliable attitude of the counterparty (ISU Petasys)."
Despite the controversy surrounding the news of the withdrawn acquisition, ISU Petasys's stock price is rising. As minority shareholders had been opposing the acquisition of J.O, the securities industry also appears to welcome the withdrawal. On the 24th, ISU Petasys's stock price rose by over 20% from the previous trading day, trading in the 40,000 won range.
Park Hyung-woo, an analyst at SK Securities, commented, "While there was much to be desired regarding communication with investors during the decision to acquire and subsequently withdraw from another company, the focal point for the stock's direction has now returned to ISU Petasys's own earnings competitiveness."