By Jonathan Cheng
SEOUL--U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates LP said Friday that it
would appeal a South Korean court ruling that gave its blessing to
a shareholder vote on a proposed merger of two Samsung Group
affiliate companies.
On Wednesday, South Korea's Central District Court rejected a
motion brought by Elliott to block the shareholder vote, slated for
July 17, to approve a merger between Samsung's de facto holding
company, Cheil Industries Inc. (028260.SE), and its construction
and trading arm, Samsung C&T Corp. (000830.SE).
Elliott, which holds a 7.1% stake in Samsung C&T, argues
that the deal unfairly values Samsung C&T, which holds a 4.1%
stake in the Samsung conglomerate's crown jewel, Samsung
Electronics Co. (005930.SE).
In its Wednesday ruling, the court agreed with Samsung that the
merger proposal was done in accordance with South Korean law.
Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com
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