POSCO beats Lotto to acquire Daewoo in a $3 billion deal

South Korean steel major POSCO has clinched the deal to acquire Daewoo International in a $3 billion bid, beating rival Lotte Group, media reports said today.

Posco, Lotte and the Jihan Global consortium had, in March, submitted preliminary bids for a controlling stake in Daewoo International. Jihan, however, didn't submit a final bid.

POSCO and the Lotte Group have submitted final bids for acquiring up to 68 per cent in energy developer Daewoo.

Last week, S Korean newspap0er the JoongAng Ilbo reported that Posco had offered around 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) for a majority stake, trumping retailer Lotto's 3.4 trillion won (See:   POSCO trumps Lotto with $3 billion final offer for Daewoo International: report) 

The state-run Korea Asset Management Corp (KAMCO), which holds the majority stake in the bankrupt Daewoo International, said it has chosen POSCO as the preferred negotiator in the two-way auction with the Lotte Group.

"We factored in the bid prices most where POSCO outrivaled Lotte. In non-financial segments, POSCO also was tantamount to Lotte. Hence, we came up with a decision in favor of POSCO,'' reports quoted a KAMCO official as saying.