HHI Adds $1.2Bln to Coffer Selling Stake in Refining Unit

South Korea's top shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group said that its holding company HHI Holdings Co will receive 1.4 trillion won ($1.24 billion) in proceeds next month from the sale of a stake in its refining unit, Hyundai Oilbank.

In April, state-owned Saudi Aramco had agreed to buy a 17 percent stake in HHIs oil processing operations.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings said in a regulatory filing that it had signed a sales agreement with Saudi Aramco that included an option for Aramco to buy an additional 2.9 percent stake in Hyundai Oilbank.

According to a report in Korea Herald, Saudi Aramco recently told Hyundai Heavy that it has earned regulatory approval for the deal from antitrust regulators in various countries, including China, Germany and Brazil.

Once the deal is officially completed, Saudi Aramco will become the second-largest shareholder of Hyundai Oilbank with a 17 percent stake. Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings retains a 74.1 percent stake in Hyundai Oilbank.

According to Yonhap, Saudi Aramco is currently the largest shareholder in S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner, with a 63 percent stake.