The fate of Kumho Industrial, the de facto holding firm of Kumho Asiana Group, is up in the air as creditors rejected the sole bidder’s price offer to acquire a controlling stake.
On Tuesday, Korea Development Bank, the lead manager of the stake sale, and creditors of Kumho Industrial decided not to accept the final bid of 600.7 billion won ($561 million) made by Hoban Construction for a 57.5 percent stake, saying it was much lower than expected.
Industry watchers have estimated the cost of acquisition to soar to 1 trillion won as the deal would also give the winner control of two airlines ― Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest air carrier, and Air Busan, Asiana’s low-budget affiliate.
In March, Hoban Construction founder and chairman Kim Sang-yeol said his firm was in a position to bid 1 trillion won with the builder’s financial soundness and sufficient cash flow.
With the latest bidding nullified, there are two options for the creditors ― issue a fresh tender or carry out a private contract with Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo, who has the first rights of refusal for majority stake in Kumho Industrial. The creditors will announce their next move after May 5.
“I will wait until the creditors make a final decision,” Park was quoted as saying by The Herald Business.
