Doosan scraps controversial merger plan
Doosan decided to withdraw its controversial plan to delist Doosan Bobcat and merge the profitable construction equipment maker with the struggling robotics firm, Doosan Robotics.
On Thursday, Doosan Bobcat and Doosan Robotics held their respective board meetings to cancel their comprehensive stock swap deal signed last month as part of the group’s corporate governance restructuring plan.
“Even if the governance restructuring will likely be beneficial, we cannot pursue it without enough support from our shareholders and the market,” Doosan Bobcat CEO Scott Park said in a letter to shareholders.
“While reconsidering our restructuring plan, we will keep searching for ways to create a synergy effect with Doosan Robotics. We apologize for the confusion and promise to become a more trustworthy company.”
Doosan Robotics CEO Ryu Jung-hoon also sent a letter apologizing to shareholders.
Before the latest decision, Doosan faced severe backlash from 추천 investors and policymakers over its plan to exchange each Doosan Bobcat share for 0.63 Doosan Robotics stock, effectively assigning greater value to the shares of the struggling robotics firm.
Although the conglomerate explained that it complied with the Capital Markets Act in setting the ratio, multiple lawmakers proposed a bill known as the anti-Doosan Bobcat law, as the merger plan was considered to benefit its controlling stakeholders only and undermine the government’s efforts to stimulate the domestic capital market.
Sean Brown, director of global investments at Texas-based Teton Capital Partners, even described the plan as “robbery,” saying that he sold most of his shares in Doosan’s affiliates after the Korean conglomerate announced its planned restructuring.
Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Bok-hyun also denounced the merger plan, repeatedly asking Doosan to correct its prospectus on the plan.