HancomWith said on Thursday it bought 1,081,666 common shares of Hancom on the market from June 4 to July 3. That equals a 4.47 percent stake and cost about 20.6 billion won.
The purchase exceeded the acquisition plan it pre-disclosed on April 30. The original plan was 792,000 shares worth about 16.5 billion won. The actual purchase was about 37 percent higher by number of shares and about 25 percent higher by amount.
HancomWith's standalone stake rose to 31.20 percent from 26.73 percent. The largest shareholder group's stake, including related parties, reached 40.15 percent.
HancomWith stressed that the share purchase reflected its confidence in future growth potential.
Song Sang-yeop (송상엽), chief executive of HancomWith, said, "Regardless of market conditions, we have steadily increased our stake in Hancom to practice responsible management as the largest shareholder and to build a stable governance structure." He said, "This stake purchase was a decision based on confidence in Hancom's technological moat and its global growth path."
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr