Billionaire Schindler Holding chairman Alfred Schindler blasted Hyundai Elevator for denying him access to its books, as he wages a legal battle to protect his 35 per cent investment in the Korean company.
The Swiss elevator-maker is trying to overturn a ban on access to Hyundai Elevator’s accounts, after a Korean court blocked a review on the grounds that Schindler is a competitor with ulterior motives. Schindler is also attempting to end the South Korean company’s use of derivatives linked to an unprofitable shipping affiliate, Hyundai Merchant Marine.
“We believe the behaviour of Hyundai Elevator as measured by international standards of corporate governance is plainly unacceptable,” Alfred Schindler said in an interview, a rare public appearance since he stepped down as chief executive officer of the Swiss company last year.
The billionaire is intervening to personally resolve the spat and will hold a press conference in Korea next year about Schindler’s investment. The elevator heir, 63, started building a stake in the Korean firm in 2006 to participate in Asia’s construction boom.
Schindler is contending with Hyundai Group, which controls 47 per cent of Hyundai Elevator, according to the Korean company’s third-quarter results. Schindler doesn’t have any directors on Hyundai Elevator’s board.
The Korean elevator-maker is also a key part of a web of cross-shareholdings linking Hyundai Group’s various different businesses. South Korea’s so-called chaebols often control units through interlocking stakes.