Court: "KG Consortium Selected as Final Acquirer of Ssangyong Motor"

KG Tower, Jung-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court has selected the KG Consortium as the final prospective buyer of Ssangyong Motor, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation proceedings.

On the 28th, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court Rehabilitation Division 1 (Presiding Judge Seo Kyunghwan, Chief Judge Lee Dongsik) announced, "The KG Consortium, the prospective buyer before the sale announcement, has been selected as the final prospective buyer." That morning, Ssangyong Motor and EY Han Young Accounting Corporation, the lead sales agent, accepted the application for approval submitted by the KG Consortium as the final prospective buyer.

According to the conditional investment agreement initially signed between the Ssangyong Motor administrator and the KG Consortium, if no bidder presents a more favorable acquisition offer than that of the KG Consortium, the KG Consortium would be selected as the final prospective buyer.

In the subsequent public bidding process, the Kwanglim Consortium was the only participant. However, ▲the scale and certainty of acquisition funds ▲the plan to secure operating funds ▲and the acquirer's financial soundness were comprehensively evaluated, resulting in the Kwanglim Consortium's acquisition offer being considered less favorable than that of the existing KG Consortium.

Previously, considering the tight deadline, Ssangyong Motor terminated the investment contract with Edison Motors and proceeded with resale through a stalking horse method, signing a conditional investment contract with the prospective buyer and then conducting a public bidding.

After KG Group's KG Consortium was selected as the prospective buyer, Ssangbangwool Group submitted a letter of intent and an official acquisition proposal including the acquisition amount. Although Ssangbangwool Group offered a higher acquisition price than the KG Consortium (around 350 billion KRW) during the stalking horse bidding, it reportedly failed to provide proof of funds and was not selected as the prospective buyer.

Ssangyong Motor plans to sign the final contract with the KG Consortium early next month and hold a creditors' meeting at the end of next month to obtain creditor approval for the rehabilitation plan.