MBK Partners Vice President Kim Kwang-il speaks at a press conference held at a hotel in central Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners said Thursday it hopes Korea Zinc will be acquired by a Korean conglomerate, not a Chinese one, if its buyout attempt of the world’s biggest zinc refiner turns out to be a successful venture.

“MBK Partners is not a foreign fund. We do not have any plan to sell Korea Zinc to Chinese capital,” MBK Partners Vice President Kim Kwang-il said at a press conference held in central Seoul on Thursday.

“It would take around 10 years to improve the governance of Korea Zinc. We hope an entity like a domestic conglomerate could acquire the company then,” he said. “Many large firms could take interest in Korea Zinc, considering an ownership of a global top-tier company is an attractive option.”

After decades of partnership, Korea Zinc and Young Poong Group have been locked in a management battle since 2022. Last week, MBK Partners announced it has sided with Young Poong in the dispute, attacking Chairman Choi Yun-beom's management capability. It plans to acquire shares in Korea Zinc through a tender offer, aiming to secure a 15 percent stake with a budget of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

"The tender offer will succeed. We have not considered how to respond to a failure," Kim said.

Over the past few days, the tender offer bid has evolved into a political crisis, with the mayor of Ulsan voicing concerns that the buyout firm, allegedly under the influence of Chinese capital, could take control over the Ulsan-based company, threatening the jobs of local employees.

“Young Poong asked for MBK to step in with an intent to separate management and ownership of (Korea Zinc), under the notion that it will only remain as its shareholder,” Kim said. “MBK can take the place as the largest shareholder of the company and improve its governance by hiring a management expert.”

“This is not a hostile takeover bid but a usual buyout,” Kim stressed.

Meanwhile, Korea Zinc’s overseas business faces blurred prospects amid the intensified dispute over management control.

Ark Energy, an Australian renewable energy and hydrogen business owned by Korea Zinc’s Sun Metals subsidiary, has expressed its concerns on the bid through local media outlets.

It cited its direction of business focusing on renewable energy and hydrogen investments could change under the hands of the alliance between Young Poong and MBK.

Ark Energy is operated by Choi Ju-won, also known as Michael, who is the son of Choi Chang-gyu. The latter is the chief of Young Poong Precision Corporation, an affiliate of Korea Zinc.

MBK said it agrees with Korea Zinc's plan to pursue the shift to green energy and the move to expand in Australia.

“New overseas business requires large investments, but a shift to decarbonization is a must,” Kim said. “Steelmaking is a business that produces large amounts of carbon emissions and we must recycle resources. What we want to do is to use the resources more wisely.”

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)