Earlier this month, acquisition candidates for HMM were narrowed down to a three-way race between Korean fisheries firm Dongwon Industries, food giant Harim and LX Group.

The acquisition deal will involve the HMM stake held by Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corp - 20.69 per cent and 19.96 per cent, respectively, selling a total of 199 million shares via the process. Also, two hundred million shares of HMM are scheduled to be additionally converted from perpetual bonds to be sold during the process.

Regarding the takeover deal, industry watchers say tumbling demand for maritime transport could weaken potential buyers' appetite, according to The Korea Herald.

"Amid the global recession in the maritime transport industry, HMM's performance has been dwindling. With the acquisition of all of KDB's shares and Korea Maritime Development Corp's share in HMM expected to cost at least KRW5 trillion (US$3.6 billion), acquiring the company could work as a winner's curse at this timing," said a shipping industry official on the condition of anonymity.

As of September 29, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, which calculates the fares of 15 of the most frequently used sea routes around the world and functions as a metric for demand in the maritime transport, shrank to 886.85, logging a 53 per cent on-year decrease.

"The three highs - high exchange rates, high interest rates and high prices - are freezing consumer sentiment and decreasing maritime transport volumes overall," said another shipping industry official also on condition of anonymity.

Amid a global slowdown in the shipping industry, HMM's second-quarter numbers tumbled, with its quarterly sales logging KRW2.1 trillion, posting a 57.7 percent on-year decrease. The company's operating profits logged KRW160 billion, a 94.5 percent decrease from the same period last year.