- KDIC Sells a 9% Stake in Woori Finance
On April 9, 2010, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) retrieved 1.6 trillion won of public funds
injected into Woori Finance Holdings Co. (Woori) by selling 72.54 million Woori shares, equivalent to a 9.0%
stake, to domestic and foreign institutional investors at 16,000 won per share, which was at a 0% discount to
the closing price of the previous day, through an after-hours block trade before commencement of trading.
KDIC's stake in Woori now stands at 56.97%, down from 65.97% previously.
So far, the state-run KDIC has recovered 5.2 trillion won out of a total of 12.8 trillion won of public funds
provided to Woori.
Due to strong market demand from both home and abroad, KDIC was able to sell all the planned shares with no
discount to the previous day’s closing price (KRW 16,000 on April 8, 2010).
* Among the four block sales of Woori shares that have taken place so far, this was the largest at the lowest
discount rate (On November 24 last year, KDIC sold a 7 percent stake at 15,350 won per share, discounted 4.36
percent from the closing price).
The strong demand is seen as a sign of investors’ expectations for improved profitability at Woori and its early
privatization.
KDIC has continued to sell Woori shares to speed up the privatization process of the holding company and
maximize retrieval of public funds.
The April sale was the second one since the re-launch of the Public Fund Oversight Committee in September
last year.
It is expected that the sale will have a positive impact on Woori’s privatization as it sent a strong signal of
KDIC’ commitment to the company’s early privatization.
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