Samsung Group struggling to sell USD 1bn Samsung C&T block amid difficult market

19 February 2016 – Samsung Electro-Mechanics [KRX:009150], an electronic components manufacturer, and Samsung SDI [KRX:006400], a computer monitor and battery maker, are struggling to sell a combined stake of over 5% in Samsung C&T Corp [KRX:028260] amid a tough market by 1 March, a deal that’s partly driven by tighter Korean regulations on cross-shareholdings effective July 2014, according to two sources familiar with the situation. By offloading 5m Samsung C&T shares each, the two companies hope to collectively raise up to USD 1bn from the block, the source said. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the banks working on the block trade, have been sounding out the investors a discount of over 5%, the first and second sources said.