NEW YORK & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Whitebox Advisors LLC (together with its affiliates, “Whitebox” or “we”), a long-term shareholder of LG Corporation (KRX: 003550) (“LG” or the “Company”), today commented on the results of the Company’s General Meeting of Shareholders held on March 26, 2021 (the “General Meeting”).
Whitebox voted against the proposed spin-off of a newly created holding company comprised of LG’s direct and indirect holdings in LG Hausys, LG MMA, Silicon Works, LG International and Pantos (the “Spin-Off”) at the Company’s General Meeting. Whitebox’s opposition to the ill-conceived transaction and its various concerns related to the Company’s lagging corporate governance were validated by leading independent proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC, both of which recommended against approval of the Spin-Off. It is clear from the voting results that absent the Koo family’s sizable shareholdings, the Spin-Off would not have been approved.
Simon Waxley, Head of Equity at Whitebox, commented:
“Whitebox wants to thank its fellow shareholders for their engagement and feedback in recent months. With nearly 50% of minority shareholders voting against the Spin-Off, we feel investors have sent a very clear message to LG: it is time to modernize the Company’s lagging corporate governance and rebuild trust with the marketplace. We believe the Company can take significant steps in this direction by prioritizing the implementation of a long-promised capital management plan, enhancing corporate governance and maintaining consistently transparent investor communications.
We are pleased that, as a result of our engagement in recent months, the Company is now acknowledging its significant trading discount relative to net asset value and the need to improve its environmental, social and governance practices. We are also pleased that LG ultimately acted on our public call to promptly release the General Meeting’s voting results. Despite the approval of the Spin-Off, we are hopeful that the Board of Directors now has a better understanding of its shareholders’ concerns related to a number of important issues.
Whitebox intends to remain a long-term shareholder of LG and continue engaging with the Company’s Board of Directors. We remain confident that LG can transform into a gem of the South Korean economy if its leadership takes the right steps in the months and years to come.”
***
About Whitebox
Whitebox is a multi-strategy alternative asset manager that seeks to generate optimal risk-adjusted returns for a diversified base of public institutions, private entities and qualified individuals. Founded in 1999, Whitebox invests across asset classes, geographies, and markets through the funds, vehicles and institutional accounts we advise. The firm manages approximately $5.5 billion in assets and maintains offices in Minneapolis, Austin, New York, London and Sydney.