As a shareholder, with a 0.62 percent stake in Samsung C&T, Palliser asked that Samsung Group’s complex group structure be turned into a holding company structure so as to reduce group-wide inefficiencies. In particular, the U.K. firm suggested the de-consolidation of Samsung C&T, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI into investment companies and operating companies, so as to merge the investment companies into a single holding company. “Unfortunately, Samsung C&T is trading at a deep discount, signaling investor concerns over capital investment and value creation, despite good underlying fundamentals,” said Palliser founder James Smith, who previously led Elliott Management’s campaign against the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. He did not expect Samsung C&T to accept Palliser’s recent request to launch a holding firm structure. In response, Samsung C&T said its board members will review the proposals, once its business performance for this year is finalized.

Source: The Times December 10, 2023 05:52 UTC