Daewoo Employees to Have Role in Selecting New Owner

An association of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. employees plans to team up with a potential buyer of their company, industry sources said Friday.  The group of employees, which owns a 0.46-percent stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding, is expected to have a say in selecting a preferred bidder for the shipyard, as the bidder which teams up with the association wins support from employees.
Korea Development Bank (KDB) and a state-run asset management company are seeking to sell a combined 50.4-percent interest in the world's third-largest shipyard, which they bailed out in 2000 after its parent Daewoo Group collapsed under a mountain of debt.
On Tuesday, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hanhwa Group and GS Group submitted their detailed bids for Daewoo Shipbuilding.
KDB said it will pick a preferred bidder in October after allowing the four bidders to conduct a due diligence on Daewoo Shipbuilding for three weeks starting next week.
The deal, estimated to be worth as much as $6.36b, has drawn much attention from bidders as the winner will likely gain a new growth engine from the shipyard's lucrative energy-related business and strong cash flows.
Meanwhile, the shipbuilder's labor union threatened to prevent the bidders from conducting a due diligence unless Hyundai Heavy drops its bid.
So far this year, Daewoo Shipbuilding has won $10.9b worth of orders to build ships and offshore facilities, about 62 percent of this year's target of $17.5b. Its backlog has reached about $42b.

(Source: www.tradingmarkets.com)