Daewoo Electronics to sell non-core assets

SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- Daewoo Electronics Corp., South Korea's third-largest
electronics maker, will look to sell its non-core businesses including its TV
manufacturing unit in order to focus more on appliances, its chief executive
officer said Wednesday.
"We will boost our competitiveness in the appliance business and sell off
non-core businesses," Lee Sung told reporters.
A number of investors are showing interest in the potential sale, particularly in
the air conditioner and electronic parts units, Lee said without naming specific
buyers.
In 2008, Daewoo Electronics posted 3.2 billion won (US$2.4 million) in operating
income on 1.9 trillion won in sales.
Its refrigerator and washing machine-manufacturing units generated 50 billion won
in operating income on combined sales of 1.5 trillion won. Its TV business, in
contrast, saw more than 40 billion won in operating losses last year.
Daewoo Electronics is a former subsidiary of the now defunct Daewoo Group, a
local conglomerate that collapsed in 1999 under massive debt totaling some $80
billion.
Creditors of Daewoo Electronics have been seeking to sell the company since late
2005, but earlier deals ruptured due to price disagreements.
Ripplewood Holdings was the latest contender though talks with the U.S. private
equity firm collapsed in January in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
In 2007, creditors rejected a 700 billion won offer from a consortium led by
India's Videocon Industries Ltd. The sale stalled again last year when Morgan
Stanley PE, a unit of global investment bank Morgan Stanley, scrapped its bid for
the electronics company in August.
Last month, Daewoo's creditors, which own 98 percent of the company, decided to
extend a debt workout program by one year until March 2010.
Lee said the company's mainstream appliance products, such as refrigerators and
microwaves, should draw in profits of 1.2 trillion won in sales and 30 billion
won in operating income this year.
sam@yna.co.kr
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