Ssangbangwool Group Sole Bidder for Acquisition of Eastar Jet... Harim and Private Equity Funds Withdraw

Eastar Jet has notified 605 employees of layoffs, raising concerns about mass unemployment in the aviation industry. On the 9th, officials are preparing for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting at Eastar Jet headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Ssangbangwool Group has submitted the sole bid in the public auction for Eastar Jet, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation procedures.

According to industry sources on the 14th, Eastar Jet closed the submission of final M&A bid documents at 3 p.m. that day.

Although there were more than ten interested parties, including private equity fund managers, Ssangbangwool Group was the only one to submit a bid proposal in the final bidding.

Harim reportedly did not submit a bid proposal within the deadline. It is interpreted that the bid did not proceed because there are considerable debts to be repaid in addition to the acquisition price of Eastar Jet.

Anjin Accounting Corporation, which is managing the sale, plans to verify the bidding results and submit them to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on the 15th.

The rehabilitation court will compare the bid amount submitted by the Kwanglim Consortium and the acquisition amount desired by Seongjeong, the company selected as the stalking horse (preliminary contract followed by competitive bidding), and will select the final preferred negotiation partner around the 21st.