POSCO trumps Lotto with $3 billion final offer for Daewoo International: report
08 May 2010
South Korean steelmaker POSCO is reported to have offered around 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) for a majority stake in Daewoo International, trumping retailer Lotto's 3.4 trillion won bid, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported today.
Both POSCO and the Lotte Group have submitted final bids for acquiring up to 68 per cent in energy developer Daewoo International.
Shareholders of Daewoo International, including state-run debt-clearing house Korea Asset Management Corp (Kamco), put up debt-redden Daewoo for sale.
Daewoo International's stakeholders are selling at least a 50 per cent stake plus one share, or around 68.15 per cent stake, in the company.
POSCO, meanwhile, is also reported to be the favoured bidder considering financial clout and management capabilities and synergy in operations.
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 for Daewoo, Kamco said.
Samjong KPMG and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch are the lead managers for the stake sale.
Kamco got a 35.5 per cent stake in Daewoo Internationmal in the 1997-98 bailout, during the Asian financial crisis that hit several companies.