Household HSBC Watch

SEOUL (Dow Jones)–U.K-based banking giant HSBC Holding Plc.(HBC) denied Thursday a local newspaper report that it may soon sign a memorandum of understanding to buy a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (004940.SE), held by U.S.-based private equity investment company Lone Star Fund. The Korea Times reported Thursday, citing an unnamed executive at HSBC, that the bank is in talks with Lone Star and plans to hold a press conference in Seoul next month to unveil its business strategies, which could include the purchase of the Korean bank.

The newspaper said HSBC has set a price of $6-$6.5 billion for a 79% stake in Korea Exchange Bank, which includes Lone Star’s 51% stake and smaller stakes held by Commerzbank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. “I will say that the report is neither based on the fact nor from anyone from our bank,” Lee Seung-hoon, a spokesman at HSBC in Seoul told Dow Jones Newswires. He added that it’s too early to say whether HSBC is interested in the acquisition of the country’s fifth largest bank because it’s not clear whether Lone Star wants to sell its stake or not.