Kumho picks Jabez Partners, TR America as prime bidders for Daewoo Engineering

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Kumho Asiana Group said Monday it has
chosen the two foreign funds -- the Middle East-based Javez Partners and the
U.S.-based TR America consortium -- as the preferred bidders for a controlling
stake in its construction unit, Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.
Kumho Asiana said it will hold negotiations with the two prime bidders for a 50
percent stake plus one share in Daewoo Engineering & Construction, estimated at
3.3 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) on the terms of the stake sale and the
procedures of due diligence.
Three prospective overseas buyers -- a sovereign wealth fund of the Middle East,
a U.S. builder and a Russian company -- submitted bids for the stake in the
nation's fourth-largest builder last Wednesday, Kumho Asiana said.
The bidding prices ranged from 20,000 won to 24,000 won per share, which places
the value of the deal at an estimated 3.3 trillion won, financial sources said.
Tokyo-based Nomura Securities Co. and the state-run Korea Development Bank, the
builder's main creditor, are arranging the sale.
The asset sale comes as the South Korean group has been plagued by cash shortages
since it bought a 72.11 percent stake in the builder in June 2006.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)