Speculation has been growing about Samsung Electronics vice chairman and Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong’s recently acquired cash totaling 300 billion won ($250 million). 

In December, he secured the money by selling a 2.05 percent stake in Samsung SDS to participate in Samsung Engineering’s planned capital increase.

Despite his plan to buy shares when there was a lack of applications, investors purchased most of the shares, worth 1.2 trillion won, that were issued last week.

Now industry watchers are paying keen attention to Lee’s cash.

Sources say the cash could be used to reduce cross-shareholdings among Samsung companies. 

The Fair Trade Commission last year ordered Samsung SDI to sell a 2.6 percent stake in Samsung C&T, saying the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries had tightened the group’s circular ownership.

With the deadline for the stake sales set for March 1, Lee could use the money to buy back Samsung C&T shares from Samsung SDI. With the new shares, Lee, the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, is expected to further tighten his grip on Samsung’s de facto holding company and other affiliates, especially the crown jewel Samsung Electronics.

Some others have talked about his separate funding for Samsung Engineering as a move to show his commitment to the company’s survival to investors and the market. 

Following the new funding, Samsung is also likely to seek a merger between Samsung Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries, the ship-building unit that failed in 2014 due to resistance from shareholders. 

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)