Thales postpones sale of stake in Samsung joint venture

Thales, Europe’s largest defense electronics company, will decide on the sale of its 50 percent stake in Samsung Thales one year after its new owner Hanwha Group completes the acquisition process later this month. 

Samsung Techwin, which owns the remaining 50 percent of stakes in the joint venture, said in a regulatory filing Tuesday it has inked an option deal with Thales.

Under the agreement, Thales has a put option that allows it the right to sell the shares, while Samsung Techwin is given a call option to buy the shares. 

Thales is still allowed to cancel the option deal within 90 days of it taking effect. 

In November, Samsung Group announced it would sell four chemical and defense units to Hanwha in a deal estimated at 1.9 trillion won ($1.72 billion). 

Samsung Techwin plans to complete the sell-off deal during a shareholders meeting planned for June 29. (jylee@heraldcorp.com)