Samsung’s shareholders have voted in favour of the $8 billion merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
Cheil Industries received support to take over Samsung C&T from 69.53% of those voting. The company needed two-thirds of the votes for the transaction to go ahead.
The victory for Samsung’s ruling family Lee comes after Elliott Associates, the third-largest shareholder in Samsung C&T with 7.1% of the stake, attempted to block the merger by filling an injunction with a Seoul court last June.
The injunction was rejected this month, which led the US hedge fund yesterday to appeal to South Korea’s supreme court on the rulling.
When the merger is finalised, the terms of the deal predict Elliott to hold more than two percent of the new entity.
Lee Jae-yong, son of Samsung’s chairman Lee Kun-hee, will hold a 16.5% stake once the merged company is formed, strengthening Samsung Electronics position in the group.
Korean government institutions have a combined stake of 11.05% in Samsung C&T, with retail investors representing 24.43%.
An Elliott spokesman told Reuters: "Elliott is disappointed that the takeover appears to have been approved against the wishes of so many independent shareholders and reserves all options at its disposal."
In a joint statement, Cheil and Samsung C&T said: "We will listen to those who opposed the deal and pledge to better engage with our shareholders and be more open to their input and feedback.
"We will implement initiatives we have announced aimed at enhancing shareholder value. We will also work toward achieving global excellence in our business and expanding the benefits with society."
The merged entity name has been revealed to be Samsung C&T and it is expected to be finalised by September 1, according to Cheil and Samsung C&T.
