Kim Dong-seon (김동선), head of future strategy at Hanwha Machinery and Service Holdings, will directly buy Hanwha M&S common shares. Kim said on Sunday he will launch a tender offer for 16.06 million common shares from existing shareholders for 22 days through next month’s Nov. 2. Hanwha M&S said the move is aimed at enhancing shareholder value and strengthening management accountability.

The shares to be purchased account for about 19 percent of all common shares, and the offer price is 8,000 won per share. That is about 32 percent above the closing price of 6,080 won on the previous day, Oct. 8, and a 27 percent premium to the recent one-month average price of about 6,300 won. The company said it exceeds the average premium of tender offers carried out over the past five years. About 128.5 billion won of Kim’s personal funds will be used.

A tender offer is a system in which shares are bought from existing shareholders at a set premium to the market price. All shareholders can sell their holdings on the same terms, and it is cited as one of the mechanisms to protect minority shareholders. Hanwha M&S said shareholders at the company’s first extraordinary general meeting held last month raised concerns about the stock price decline and future growth potential. It said such views were reflected in the tender offer.

Hanwha M&S is a holding company established in August this year through a spin-off of Hanwha Group’s tech and life divisions, and it was listed on the Korea Exchange’s main board in the same month. The tech division includes Hanwha Vision, Hanwha Semitech, Hanwha Momentum and Hanwha Robotics, while the life division includes Hanwha Galleria, Hanwha Hotel & Resort and Ourhome. Including subsidiaries, it has 56 affiliates, including overseas units. On a consolidated basis at end-2025, sales were about 6 trillion won and total assets were 11.3 trillion won.

Kim plans to pursue various measures to increase shareholder interests and strengthen accountable management, starting with the tender offer. The tech and life divisions will implement management strategies tailored to business characteristics and the market environment under Hanwha M&S leadership. There is also a plan to identify synergies for new businesses through cooperation among affiliates.

A Hanwha M&S official said, "There is an aspect in which the growth potential of Hanwha Group’s tech and life divisions has not been sufficiently reflected in the stock price," and added, "We expect Kim’s tender offer to serve as a positive signal to the market and shareholders and significantly raise shareholder value and corporate value."