Speculation is mounting in Seoul that steel giant POSCO could emerge as the frontrunner to acquire a controlling stake in liner major HMM.

Local media report that advisors from Samil PwC and Boston Consulting Group are understood to be working with POSCO on feasibility studies for a deal that could be worth in the region of KRW7trn ($5bn), covering the combined 71.7% stake held by state creditors.

POSCO is yet to commit publicly but confirms it is “reviewing business feasibility.”

State-run Korea Development Bank has been sounding out potential suitors for years. Hyundai Glovis, LX Pantos, and SM Line have all been linked, but none have gained traction. Back in 2021, POSCO’s name was also in the frame, though the then mooted price tag was barely a quarter of today’s.

For South Korea, a sale of HMM to POSCO would mark the culmination of more than a decade of state stewardship and hand the country’s flagship liner back to private hands.

Last September, HMM unveiled expansion plans through to the end of the decade, setting aside a massive KRW23.5trn ($17.48bn) that will see its container fleet nearly double while its tanker and dry bulk fleets will triple in size come 2030.