Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has become the largest shareholder of Doosan Group’s lucrative Doosan Fuel Cell Co. after its owner family members donated their stakes to improve Doosan Heavy’s financial health, a move that is expected to create synergy between the two units.

Doosan Fuel Cell disclosed on Thursday that specially affiliated persons of Doosan Corp. including Doosan Group Chairman Park Jung-won handed over their combined 23-percent stake, or 12,763,557 shares, in Doosan Fuel Cell to Doosan Heavy Industries for free. The stake is worth 606.3 billion won ($548.1 million) in total based on Wednesday’s closing price.

In early September, Chairman Park and other 12 key shareholders signed a deal to donate their stakes in Doosan Fuel Cell to the group’s cash-strapped flagship unit Doosan Heavy Industries to help it improve financial health.

Thanks to the donation, Doosan Heavy Industries is now the biggest shareholder of Doosan Fuel Cell with a 17.77-percent stake, according to the filing. The latest stake handover is also expected to create synergy between the two units, which should foster the growth of the group’s environmentally-friendly energy business.

Based on leading technology, Doosan Fuel Cell takes the lead in the power-use hydrogen fuel cell market. Doosan Heavy Industries also makes hydrogen turbines using its gas turbine technology and produces hydrogen using renewable energy such as wind power. It is also taking part in the country’s first liquid hydrogen plant project.

With Doosan Fuel Cell’s fuel cell technology, Doosan Heavy Industries will be able to produce 400-kilowatt fuel cells, 3- to 8-megawatt level wind power, 60-megawatt small modular reactors, and 270- and 380-megawatt gas turbines.

Doosan Fuel Cell is also expected to make inroads into overseas markets using Doosan Heavy Industries’ extensive global network and EPC capacity.

Shares of Doosan Heavy Industries closed 4.22 percent higher at 16,050 won on Thursday while those of Doosan Fuel Cell closed 0.95 percent lower at 47,050 won.

By Han Woo-ram and Lee Eun-joo

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