In a country with a record of hostility toward foreign capital, some local investors are breaking with tradition as they side with a U.S. hedge fund opposing an $8 billion merger seen vital to the transfer of leadership at South Korea's top conglomerate. Hundreds of Samsung C&T Corp's small stakeholders have converged on a public web forum in recent days to protest what they say is a low-ball all-stock takeover offer from Cheil Industries Inc , an affiliate of Samsung Group and the conglomerate's de facto holding company.