[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
CJ Cheiljedang, a key subsidiary of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, moved to secure funds for its aggressive business expansion by selling its stake in a Samsung Group financial arm.
The company said in a regulatory filing that it would sell 2.98 million shares worth 357.7 billion won (311.5 million US dollars), or a 1.49 percent stake in Samsung Life Insurance, through block trading. The price is a three percent discount from Tuesday's closing price.
CJ Cheiljedang, a major food and food service company, said the disposal of shares is designed to improve its financial status and secure funds for future investments. In June, it earmarked some 900 billion won in building a new plant at home and acquiring Selecta, a Brazilian company that manufactures soy protein concentrate.
CJ has sought aggressive expansion since chairman Lee Jay-hyun came back to his office in May after four years of absence. Lee was sentenced to four years in prison in 2014 on conviction of embezzlement, tax evasion and breach of trust. The sentence was reduced to 30 months in December 2015 and he was granted a presidential pardon last August.
CJ has subsidiaries specializing in food, food service, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, entertainment, media, home shopping and logistics. CheilJedang, the world's largest producer of lysine, an amino acid used as additives for animal feed and food additives, has built an overseas network of animal feed plants in China and Southeast Asian countries.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
임장원
cwlim34@ajunews.com
