Overview

• Cerberus Capital Management, HD Hyundai and Korea Development Bank signed the agreement on Aug. 25 at the InterContinental The Willard in Washington, with Minister Kim Jung-kwan and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in attendance.
• HD Hyundai will serve as anchor investor and technical adviser, Cerberus will manage the strategy and operations, and KDB will facilitate participation by Korean investors.
• The program will focus on acquiring and modernizing U.S. shipyards, reinforcing equipment and component suppliers, and advancing shipbuilding technologies including autonomous navigation and AI.
• Financial terms were not disclosed, but the companies describe the effort as a multibillion-dollar initiative aligned with MASGA and South Korea’s broader $150 billion pledge tied to a bilateral trade package.
• The partners point to Cerberus’s revival of the Subic Bay shipyard and HD Hyundai’s recent U.S. collaborations and a Navy maintenance contract as evidence of operational capability.