Samsung Electronics shares worth $1.1b sold in block deal

SEOUL, Mar 24 (Reuters):Samsung Electronics shares worth about $1.1 billion were sold in a block deal on Thursday, according to a document, which some analysts attributed to the Samsung conglomerate's controlling family raising cash to meet a big tax bill.

About 19.9 million Samsung shares were sold by Kookmin Bank (KOOKM.UL) at 68,800 won per share, a discount of 2.4 per cent to Wednesday's closing price of 70,500 won, a term sheet of the deal seen by Reuters showed.

Samsung Electronics did not have a comment on the sale.

But the shares on sale matched the amount that Hong Ra-hee, mother of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee and wife of deceased Samsung patriarch Lee Kun-hee, agreed to keep in trust with Kookmin Bank in October, according to a Samsung Electronics filing that month.

The trust agreement period was due to end by April 25, the filing showed.