미국 헤지펀드 엘리엇매니지먼트가 6일 보유 중인 삼성물산 지분 일부에 대한 주식매수청구권을 행사했다.
엘리엇 관계자는 "(삼성물산과 제일모직의) 합병안이 불공정하고 불법적이라는 기존 입장의 연장선에서 주식매수청구권을 행사하게 됐다"고 밝혔다.
이 관계자는 이어 "엘리엇은 주주로서의 권리와 투자 가치를 보호하기 위해 지 난달 임시 주총 결과와 관련된 사항을 포함해 모든 가능한 방안을 검토 중에 있다"고 덧붙였다.
엘리엇이 행사한 주식매수청구권 물량은 정확히 확인되지 않았다. 다만 엘리엇은 삼성물산 지분 7.12% 가운데 합병 발표일인 5월26일 이전 매입분만 주식매수청구 권을 행사할 수 있다.
엘리엇은 지난 2월부터 삼성물산 주식 매집에 나선 것으로 알려졌다.
이번 주식매수청구권 행사 물량은 2∼5월 사들인 것으로 추정되며 당시 시세는 5만5천∼6만3천원선에서 형성됐다.
엘리엇이 지난 17일 주총 표대결에서 삼성에 밀린 상황에서 일부 물량을 주식매 수청구권 행사 가격인 5만7천234원에 팔아 '출구 전략'을 구체화하는 것이 아니냐는 관측도 나온다.
삼성물산 주가는 5일 종가를 기준으로 5만7천200원으로 주식매수청구권을 살짝 밑돌고 있다. 향후 주가 흐름을 부정적으로 보면 주식매수청구권을 행사하는 것이 유리하다.
한편 삼성물산은 이날 주식매수청구권 신청 접수를 마감한다.
합병 계약서에 따르면 양사를 합쳐 1조5천억원 규모의 주식매수청구권이 행사되 면 합병이 취소될 수 있다. 이는 삼성물산 지분 16%가량에 해당한다.
그러나 엘리엇을 제외하고는 현실적으로 대량으로 주식매수청구권을 행사할 주 체가 없어 주식매수청구권 행사가 합병에 별다른 장애가 되지는 않을 것이라는 관측 이 지배적이다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
Elliott asks Samsung C&T to buy back part of its stake
U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates said Thursday it has requested that Samsung C&T Corp. buy back part of its stake in the South Korean construction firm, a move in line with its opposition against a key merger deal carried out by the country's top conglomerate, Samsung Group.
Thursday is the deadline for shareholders of Samsung C&T to file claims with the builder to repurchase their shares in opposition to the planned merger with Cheil Industries Inc., the group's de facto holding firm.
The merger bid by the two Samsung units, deemed vital to the generational leadership succession at South Korea's most powerful conglomerate, has been challenged by Elliott, the third-largest shareholder in Samsung C&T, which claimed it needs to be stopped as it is a low-ball deal.
Elliott's attempt has so far failed as the two Samsung units won shareholder approval of the merger plan at respective shareholder meetings on July 17.
Elliott has recently exercised an appraisal right for some of its 7.12 percent stake in the construction unit of Samsung, a local source representing the U.S. firm said, without giving details on the size of the stake it sold.
According to analysts, the hedge fund can sell back up to 4.95 percent as the local rule states that a share buyback claim must be made only for the stake that had been owned before the merger announcement. Elliott has raised its stake in Samsung C&T with an additional 2.17 percent, a week after the deal was made public.
Elliott's decision comes as a surprise since it was widely expected that it wouldn't sell down the shares given that it had bought them for as high as 60,000 won per share.
Samsung C&T said it will buy them back for 57,234 won per share, which means that the possible stake sale for Elliott now entails losses.
Shares of Samsung C&T have tumbled nearly 14 percent following the shareholder approval on the merger bid. It had spiked 25 percent after the merger announcement until the vote.
The builder closed down 3.5 percent to 55,200 won on the Seoul bourse on Thursday, with the broader KOSPI slipping 0.81 percent.
Elliott said the request for a share buyback came as part of an extended effort to reinforce its earlier argument that the proposed merger is unfair and unlawful.
"(The firm) is looking into all possible options related to the outcome of the shareholder meeting last month to protect its rights and value as a shareholder," it added.
The 8.9 trillion-won ($7.59 billion) all-stock deal can be called off if the share buyback claims exceed 1.5 trillion won, or 17 percent of Samsung C&T shares that are entitled to such rights.
Analysts have played down the possibility of the merger being derailed by share buyback claims, since Samsung C&T has piled up more than 2 trillion won in cash to make compensations, according to their estimates. (Yonhap)
