The South Korean Government is considering to sell its 57% share holding in Woori Bank, a subsidiary of Woori Finance, in two instalments within the first half of 2015, to recoup the fund invested during the bailout.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said the 30% controlling stake will be sold to a single buyer, while the outstanding 26.97% shareholding will be divided up and sold to various investors.
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According to an estimate, the total government shareholding in the bank has been valued nearly KRW5.4tn ($5.3bn), while the controlling share is worth approximately KRW3tn ($2.9bn).
The FSC said that biddings for both tranches are likely to start in September 2014, while the sale is expected to conclude by the first half of 2015.
The agency further said that the parties interested in assuming management control can place bids for package deal, while others can participate in group B to purchase between 0.5% and 10% shares in the bank.
The current sale represents fourth and final attempt by the government to get back over $12bn of taxpayers’ money pumped in Woori Finance during the financial crisis in the late 1990s.
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By GlobalDataFSC chairman Shin Je-yoon was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that the Woori Bank sale is in the final stage for privatisation which the government has been trying to complete for the last 13 years.
"The FSC will put more significance on improving the feasibility of the sale in accordance with market consensus," Je-yoon added.
