Austal knocks back takeover bid from Hanwha Ocean

Top management at Australian shipbuilding group Austal has rejected a $662m bid from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, citing regulatory worries. 

Hanwha Ocean, the yard formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, has been hunting overseas assets since it was taken over last year. 

Sydney-listed Austal said on Tuesday it thought it was unlikely Hanwha’s bid in its current form would receive approval from Australian and overseas regulators.

Austal said government approval “is particularly relevant in relation to the proposal from Hanwha, given Austal’s position as the designer and builder of defence vessels for the Australian and US navies and ownership clauses associated with defence contracts.”

Austal management added that they were open to further engagement if Hanwha is able to provide certainty on whether a transaction would be approved.