(April 8): A Samsung Group family member is selling as much as 3.1 trillion won (US$2.1 billion or $2.7 billion) in Samsung Electronics Co shares, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the biggest such offerings in South Korea.
Hong Ra-hee, the wife of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, is selling her shares for inheritance-tax purposes, the people said, asking not to be named because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
A regulatory filing in January showed that Hong was looking to dispose of 15 million shares for tax and loan repayment. A Samsung Electronics representative declined to comment.
Earlier terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News showed a seller offering 15 million shares at 204,395 won to 208,605 won each. The price range represents a discount of 0.9% to 2.9% to Samsung’s closing price of 210,500 won on Wednesday. The seller is also conducting a sale of 206,633 preferred shares, amounting to roughly US$19 million, according to the terms.
Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Shinhan Securities Co and UBS Group AG are joint bookrunners, the terms show.
South Korea has steep inheritance taxes on controlling shareholders of firms like Samsung Electronics, delivering a financial hit to many of the nation’s richest families. Samsung’s Lee died in 2020 at 78, leaving family members with one of the largest-ever inheritance bills in the country.
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