U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott filed another injunction to block a proposed $8 billion merger of two key Samsung Group companies, escalating a conflict over a deal seen key to leadership transfer at South Korea's top conglomerate. Elliott said it had filed its second injunction with a South Korean court, this time to stop builder Samsung C&T Corp from selling treasury shares amounting to a 5.8 percent stake to KCC Corp in a bid to gain KCC's support for the proposed all-share takeover offer from Cheil Industries Inc. In a statement, Samsung C&T said the sale would defend shareholders against "an attack from a foreign hedge fund intended for a short-term trading profit".