SOUTH KOREA’S Hyundai Motor Group has shelved a restructuring plan that would have given the son of its aging chairman more control of the conglomerate after opposition from investors including U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management. The decision is a rare victory for an activist shareholder in South Korea, and comes at a time of growing public scrutiny of families controlling large conglomerates following a corruption scandal last year involving Samsung Group. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co., which controls Hyundai Motor Co., yesterday cited “uncertainty” about shareholder support for a restructuring plan at a meeting next week. It also dropped a series of subsequent deals that would have enabled family members to secure a major stake in itself. The firm said it will “supplement and improve” the plan, which is part of a broader bid by South Korea’s second-biggest conglomerate to reform its circular ownership structure, reduce regulatory risk and prepare the group for father-to-son switch. “It’s a lesson that investors will no longer accept restructuring that only helps in succession,” said professor Park Sang-in at Seoul National University. “The move raises uncertainty about restructuring at Hyundai and other family-run conglomerates.” (SD-Agencies) |