South Korea’s Doosan Group plans to merge its subsidiaries Doosan Robotics and Doosan Bobcat in the first half of next year, according to industry insiders. The name of the merged entity has yet to be disclosed.
Doosan decided to make Doosan Enerbility’s subsidiary, Bobcat, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Robotics, to expedite the process and avoid the lengthy administrative procedures a full merger would entail.
On July 11, Doosan announced a reorganization plan focused on three pillars: clean energy, smart machines, semiconductors, and advanced materials, aiming to maximize business synergies. The plan involves consolidating its subsidiaries under these three pillars.
The announcement included creating a new entity for Enerbility’s investment business, removing Bobcat as a subsidiary, and subsequent dissolution of the new entity. This would result in Bobcat becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Robotics.
The reorganization has sparked controversy, with allegations of undervaluing Bobcat and overvaluing Robotics raising concerns about the rights of Enerbility and Bobcat shareholders.
Kim Byung-hwan, nominee for chairman of the Financial Services Commission, addressed these concerns in a written response to the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly. “I will look into whether there are any areas to improve the merger value calculation system,” he said.
