Samsung Group's heir-apparent Lee Jay-yong may sell part of his shares in Samsung SDS Co., a newly listed IT arm of the conglomerate, after the lock-up period ends in May, a Samsung official said Tuesday, in a move interpreted as securing cash for a groupwide reorganization.
   
"(Jay-yong) may sell a portion of his shares (in Samsung SDS) after the lock-up period," the high-ranking official said. The comment is the first to come from inside the country's top conglomerate about any stake changes by the Samsung's owner family.
   
Jay-yong, the only son of the group's de facto chairman Lee Kun-hee, holds 11.25 percent of Samsung SDS. His sisters Boo-jin, head of Hotel Shilla Co., and Seo-hyun, head of the fashion division at Cheil Industries Inc., each own a 3.9 percent stake.
The senior Lee has 0.01 percent.
   
Under the South Korean financial law, major shareholders are banned from trading their shares of newly listed companies for six months from the day of the flotation to protect retail investors.
Accordingly, sales of Lee Jay-yong's shares are possible only after mid-May next year. Samsung SDS was listed Nov. 14.
   
Samsung has been speeding up its structural reorganization after Lee Kun-hee, 72, was hospitalized in mid-May after suffering a heart attack. His vacancy gave urgency to the transfer of management to his children. With the son effectively serving as the chief, corporate watchers are looking closely at a large-scale personnel reshuffle and business restructuring expected to be announced next month.
   
The listing of Samsung SDS was viewed as a means to generate cash that would fund the costs, including the inheritance tax, for the managerial transfer to the three children. 
   
Market observers say Lee Jay-yong's stake sale in the IT unit may have an adverse effect on the company's share price by ending the premium attached to stocks held by the owner family. They had expected the shares to stay comfortably pricey through efforts by Samsung Group.
   
Samsung SDS shares started at 190,000 won (US$170.63) on its market debut and closed at 405,500 won Monday, making the company the fourth-largest market cap. (Yonhap)