|
U.S. private equity fund Lone Star apparently warned the government it would sue for compensation in case it delays a review of British bank HSBC¡¯s offer to buy Korea Exchange Bank from the fund. There is speculation among analysts that Lone Star¡¯s warning, which came in a letter, affected the Financial Services Commission¡¯s decision to launch the review announced last Friday, only a week before the July 31 deadline for the KEB deal. The FSC earlier said it would wait until a district court rules on alleged irregularities in the original sale of the bank to Lone Star at a knockdown price.
Financial authorities on Wednesday said the letter was sent to the FSC in mid July. Lone Star reportedly said in the letter that if its deal with HSBC collapses because the government did not review the matter, it could file a lawsuit seeking US$2 billion in damages. An FSC official denied the threat influenced its decision, saying the supervisory body ¡°took into account all possible consequences like lawsuits HSBC as well as Lone Star may file and damage to national credibility.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
