[Courtesy of KT&G]
[Courtesy of KT&G]

KT&G said Tuesday that Capital Group, the US-based global asset manager, has acquired a 7.21% stake in the company.

Capital Group disclosed that it holds approximately 7.49 million KT&G shares for pure investment purposes, representing 7.21% of total shares outstanding.

Capital Group is the world's largest active fund manager, overseeing roughly $3.3 trillion (about 5,023 trillion won) in assets. The firm had previously disclosed a 5.61% stake in KT&G on May 8.

"Following BlackRock, Capital Group and other global asset managers with a strong long-term investment orientation have successively built stakes in us, recognizing the company's fundamental competitiveness," a KT&G official said. The official added that the company would "build a virtuous cycle of profit growth driven by global business and shareholder returns, enhancing shareholder value."

Meanwhile, KT&G posted consolidated revenue of 1.7036 trillion won and operating profit of 364.5 billion won in the first quarter of this year, up 14.3% and 27.6%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier.


soho0902@heraldcorp.com