"Hana Financial Group is considering offering shares as part of capital plans, but nothing has been decided yet," the group said in a regulatory filing.
Hit by the share offering plan, stocks of Hana Financial closed at 35,050 won (US$29.86) on the main bourse, down 14.41 percent from the previous session.
According to industry sources, the group is seeking to raise more than 1 trillion won in what market watchers speculate could be efforts to stockpile "ammunition" for the purchase of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), currently controlled by Lone Star Funds.
Bloomberg reported Thursday that Lone Star is seeking to sell its controlling stakes in KEB within six to 12 months, raising expectations that a wave of potential takeovers in the local banking sector may start soon.

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