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Flashlight Capital Offers to Buy Samsung's 20.6% S-1 Stake
Flashlight Capital Partners has offered to acquire the entire 20.6% stake in S-1 Corporation held by five Samsung Group affiliates for KRW 906.6 billion, or KRW 116,000 per share, a 45% premium to the current market price. The offer, made to Samsung SDI, Samsung Life, Samsung Fire & Marine, Samsung Securities, and Samsung Card, gives the boards until September 23 to respond. Flashlight Capital argues that none of the affiliates has a strategic reason to retain the stake, noting that the proceeds would be equivalent to about 10% of Samsung Life's and 13% of Samsung Card's net income. The activist investor, led by former Carlyle Group Korea head Sanghyun Lee, criticized S-1's board for a hollow response to its June 23 proposals and said it will keep all options open.