A $1.5 billion hostile takeover bid for Korea Zinc could become a political headache for the Albanese government amid fears that it will jeopardise one of Australia’s biggest portfolios of renewable energy and hydrogen projects.

Korea Zinc is at the centre of a bitter fight for control between its founding families. The Choi family and its supporters control the company with a 34 per cent ownership stake, and the Chang family controls about 33 per cent through a business called Young Poong, which is backed by MBK Partners, a North Asia-focused $US30 billion ($43.3 billion) private equity firm.