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Industrial robots produced by HD Hyundai Robotics (Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Shareholder activism platform ACT has formally raised concerns over HD Hyundai’s plan to spin off and separately list HD Hyundai Robotics.
In a statement released on January 28, ACT said that the recent decision to withdraw the listing of LS Electric’s Essex Solutions clearly demonstrated “how important shareholder voices are in the capital market.” The platform added that “HD Hyundai should also seriously consider enhancing corporate value through internalization within the holding company, rather than pursuing an aggressive duplicate listing of its robotics business.”
ACT CEO Lee Sang-mok told Alpha Economy that immediately after the LS case was resolved, the platform received a surge of requests from shareholders questioning why “a much larger duplicate listing by HD Hyundai is being left unchecked.” He added that nearly 80% of posts on stock discussion boards now oppose duplicate listings and explicitly reference the LS case, indicating that shareholder sentiment has strongly coalesced.
ACT said it shares these concerns and emphasized that the HD Hyundai Robotics issue should not be viewed merely as a controversy over duplicate listings, but rather as a broader question of whether corporate value can be maximized through internalization at the holding company level.
Lee warned that allowing duplicate listings by large conglomerates would encourage indiscriminate follow-on listings by smaller companies, further exacerbating the so-called “Korea discount.” “We concluded that a clear line must be drawn starting with major corporations that carry strong symbolic weight in the market, and that is why we decided to respond comprehensively,” he said.
He also argued that a separate listing of HD Hyundai Robotics could lead to a material erosion of shareholder value at the holding company level. “Investors now clearly distinguish between a holding company’s stake value and the value of its own operating businesses,” Lee said, noting that recent share price rebounds at major holding companies such as Doosan were driven by the market’s reassessment of their proprietary businesses rather than their equity holdings.
ACT highlighted industry estimates that place the potential enterprise value of HD Hyundai Robotics at as much as 7 to 8 trillion won. “Rather than spinning off such a promising growth engine, shareholder value can be maximized through a re-rating of the parent company’s stock if the holding company directly nurtures the business as its own,” the platform said.
Lee added that global standards increasingly favor consolidation and efficiency even among already listed companies, arguing that spinning off and listing individual business units runs counter to global trends. “No justification can legitimize duplicate listings,” he said.
ACT said it plans to express its concerns through lawful shareholder actions, including submitting shareholder opinions to the Korea Exchange, requesting access to shareholder registers, and seeking constructive dialogue with management—similar to the approach taken in the LS case.
“As confirmed in the LS case, the unified voice of shareholders is the most powerful force in driving management decisions,” Lee said. “If HD Hyundai’s management ignores the market’s message, we will respond through legitimate shareholder rights to the very end.”
Alphabiz 문선정 기자(press@alphabiz.co.kr)
