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Ownership transfer of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, is expected to speed up as plans to list its de facto holding company will help the heir apparent secure funds to take control of the group's affiliates.
Samsung Everland, the group's de facto holding company, held a board of directors' meeting Tuesday, deciding to make the amusement park operator go public by the first quarter of next year.
The initial public offering (IPO) plan came as Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, 72, the group's de facto chief, has been in the hospital since May 10 for an acute myocardial infarction.
Chairman Lee has governed all the affiliates of Samsung Group in a way that he and Samsung Everland controls Samsung Life Insurance, which controls the group's finance-related affiliates as well as Samsung Electronics that controls technology-related affiliates.
Lee's only son Jae-yong, his heir apparent, has a 25.1 percent stake in the de facto holding company, with his two daughters holding an 8.37 percent stake respectively. Lee has a 3.72 percent stake.
The total value of stakes owned by Lee family was estimated at more than 2 trillion won (1.95 billion U.S. dollars) based on a price of 1.82 million won per share that was applied to the block sale in 2011.
The IPO will speed up the management succession from the chairman to his son Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics' vice chairman, helping him secure funds necessary to buy stakes in the group's affiliates and pay inheritance taxes.
In addition, Samsung SDS, the group's information technology unit, announced a plan last month to go public by the end of this year.
Samsung Electronics was the largest shareholder of Samsung SDS with a 22.58 percent stake as of the end of last year, followed by the group's construction and trading unit Samsung C&T with 17.08 percent.
Jae-yong had an 11.25 percent stake in Samsung SDS. The IPO was expected to help the heir apparent earn more than 1 trillion won. Lee's two daughters also held a 3.9 percent stake respectively.
