When histories of Asian MA are written, among the many great case studies will be Shinhan Financial's takeover of Chohung. With Chohung staff at one stage threatening to turn off the computers and delete everyone's bank accounts and a new Korean President thrown into the melee, this was a deal that was highly politicised from the start.
First announced in December, the plan was to create the fourth major Korean bank group alongside Kookmin, Hana, and Woori making the banking sector look more like the UK or Australia. However, with Chohung not only being Korea's oldest bank, but its oldest company, cultural friction quickly flared up, and efforts by Chohung to kill...
