[THE INVESTOR] The board of Hyundai Mobis, the parts-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, on May 21 decided to call off the planned vote on its spin-off merger deal at a shareholders meeting next week.

The board convened an urgent meeting later on the day to cancel the vote that was scheduled to be held on May 29 possibly due to some investors upping pressure to block the deal. 

Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son Chung Eui-sun

In March, Hyundai Motor Group announced Hyundai Mobis would spin off its module and after-service parts business and merge it with Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit, as part of its governance reform plans amid calls to improve its complex ownership structure that gives much power to the owner family.

But the plans have faced fierce opposition from some Mobis shareholders, including US activist fund Elliott Management, citing an unfavorable merger-swap ratio. Last week, the world’s two largest proxy advisors Institutional Shareholder Service and Glass Lewis, both based in the US, recommended investors to vote against the merger deal.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)