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Hanaro saga may finally be drawing to a close as AIG's $500m bid gets approval

The ongoing saga involving Korea's troubled internet provider Hanaro is finally drawing to a close. The company's shareholders have approved a $500m takeover led by American International Group and private equity firm Newbridge Capital, thwarting a bid led by the company's largest stakeholder LG Group and US private equity firm Carlyle Group.

LG and Carlyle made a $630m bid for the company just last week, trumping AIG's and Newbrige's earlier offer of $450m.

The investment will give the AIG-Newbridge consortium a 39.6 per cent stake in Hanaro and will guarantee the future of the embattled company, which is in urgent need of fresh capital to pay back debts of $1.9bn, according to the Financial Times.

But it may not all be over yet. LG has said that it might take legal action to nullify the shareholder's approval and call into question the procedures used at the shareholder's meeting.

Samsung electronics and SK Telecom, which own eight per cent and six per cent of Hanaro respectively, have supported AIG's bid from the beginning, as they do not want LG to become a greater force in the telecommunications industry.

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