Hyundai to cancel $892m shares to improve shareholder value

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, shared plans to cancel 8.65 million shares of its stock, which equates to 960 billion won ($892.8 million), in a bid to restore shareholder value, the company said Friday.

This is the first time in 14 years that Hyundai has cancelled shares. In 2004 it cancelled 1.2 million shares.

Hyundai disclosed through DART that it would cancel 4.41 million common stock and 1.28 million preferred stock it currently owns on July 27, and retire 2.2 million common stock and 650,000 preferred stock later on.

The total 8.65 million shares account for roughly 3 percent of stocks issued.
“The latest stock cancellation is a part of Hyundai’s policy carried out since 2014, aimed at restoring shareholder value,” the company said.

Hyundai emphasized it has continuously made efforts to boost shareholder value starting in 2014 when it bought some 500 billion won worth of its shares. It also set up the “transparency management committee” responsible for defending shareholder rights and communicating with investors set up in 2015, corporate governance charter established in 2016 and new dividend policy announced last year. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)