BlackRock becomes 3rd-largest shareholder of Hanwha Solutions

US-based investment manager BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of energy services company Hanwha Solutions, a filing showed Wednesday.

BlackRock’s 11 affiliated entities were holding a combined 5.08 percent stake in Hanwha Solutions -- which is dedicated to petrochemicals, advanced materials and solar energy -- as of Friday, according to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service.

Solely on Friday, BlackRock had invested 65.4 billion won ($55.6 million) to buy a 0.76 percent stake in the company, at around 44,700 won per share. Its acquisition prices for the remaining shares were not disclosed.

Under Korean rules, a minority shareholder with at least 5 percent of shares in a company is subject to filing obligations as a blockholder of the company.

BlackRock said it does not intend to influence Hanwha Solutions’ management through the investment.

Hanwha Solutions is trading on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi. Its share price fell 2.9 percent Wednesday to 44,000 won apiece.

Hanwha Solutions’ largest shareholder is Hanwha Corp., the de facto holding company of the chemicals-to-finance Hanwha conglomerate, with over 36 percent ownership as of June. The National Pension Service is the second-largest, holding 9 percent of shares.

Hanwha Solutions logged 475.7 billion won in operating profit during the first half of 2021, up 60 percent year-on-year.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)