STX to Spin Off Shipping Division to Improve Business Efficiency

STX announced on the 20th that it will spin off its shipping business division through a demerger. This move aims to further strengthen its expertise as a general trading company. Additionally, the company plans to discover new growth engines in the high value-added shipping sector.

On the same day, STX held a board meeting and resolved to approve the demerger plan and convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. As a KOSPI-listed company, STX will be divided into the existing surviving company STX, which will continue its comprehensive trading business, and a newly established company specializing in shipping and logistics, STX Green Ocean.

Existing shareholders will receive shares of the newly established companies in proportion to their holdings in STX and STX Green Ocean. The split ratio is 0.767393 shares of STX and 0.232607 shares of STX Green Ocean per one share held. On the same day, STX submitted an application for preliminary review for re-listing due to the demerger to the Korea Exchange. The approval of the demerger will be addressed at the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for June. The effective date of the split is July 3.

STX was established in 1976 (then known as Ssangyong Heavy Industries) and has 47 years of history. It was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange in September 1990. In 2001, the company changed its name to STX and served as a business holding company overseeing affiliates such as STX Heavy Industries and STX Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now K Shipbuilding). Currently, it focuses on trading industrial materials such as metals and steel, energy, and machinery and engines. More than 70% of its sales are generated overseas, making it a global trading company. Major affiliates include STX Marine Service, PK Valve & Engineering, STX Resort, and STX Aero Service.

With the demerger of the shipping business division, STX plans to concentrate on its core business as a trading company to enhance its expertise and competitiveness. Alongside this, it will launch the world’s first raw materials and industrial goods B2B platform this year. The company plans to expand the traditional scope of a general trading company into a big data-based global e-commerce platform. This innovative platform, which overcomes the conventional belief that digital trading is impossible for raw materials and industrial goods, aims to lead the next-generation global trading market.

The newly established STX Green Ocean will accelerate growth in the shipping business sector and actively pursue new future revenue sources. STX currently operates its own fleet, engaging in charter and large vessel businesses. Since it has STX Marine Service, the number one third-party ship management company in Korea, as a subsidiary, it plans to expand the shipping business value chain further through the new STX Green Ocean. Last year, STX generated high value-added profits in the shipping sector, with operating profit increasing by 380% year-on-year due to strategic fleet management.

An STX official stated, “This demerger is a division of business units, decided based on the judgment to pursue expertise and growth in each distinct area and to enhance corporate and shareholder value. As a specialized trading company, STX will strive for sustainable growth as a global trader crossing both online and offline channels, while the newly established STX Green Ocean will focus on strengthening expertise in the shipping sector based on the DNA of the former STX Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and its current capabilities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.