South Korean shipbuilding group Hanwha Ocean Co. has advanced a proposal to acquire the Australian company of Austal Shipbuilding offering AU$2,825 in cash for each share of Austal, for a total of of approximately one billion Australian dollars (666 million Australian dollars USA) to buy a company that has a market capitalization of less than AU$800 million.

Specifying that the offer is subject to numerous conditions, including the carrying out of the due diligence procedure and obtaining the necessary authorisations from different Australian and US authorities, the Council of Austal's management explained that at the moment the company Australian is not convinced that these necessary approvals will be issued, specifying that, however, Austal is ready for further engagements if Hanwha is able to provide certainty about the approval of the proposed transaction.

For its part, Hanwha called the concerns unfounded that the Australian Government would not grant permission the sale of Austal as the company carries out activities For the Australian defence sector: "There is no "There is no basis for this," said the executive vice president of the Hanwha, David Kim - according to which the Foreign Investment Review Board would reject the acquisition of the company by the Hanwha. Hanwha complies with the regulatory process of FIRB, but is confident in its own ability to to obtain approval of the transaction by the FIRB. Hanwha, Kim said, has already been approved FIRB for previous investments in Australia and has a proven track record of investing in the industrial base of the Australian Defence being the supplier of combat vehicles, self-propelled howitzers and ammunition refuelling vehicles, with significant investments in a production centre in Geelong that employs local workers."