KBO Gives Up Selling Unicorns to STX
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) withdrew its offer to the STX Corporation to buy the troubled Hyundai Unicorns Wednesday, refusing to extend an awkward waiting-game with the heavy industries giant hesitating to pull the trigger.
The baseball league's decision to find a new bidder comes just days after STX back tracked from its earlier commitment to the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO)'s winter league that starts next month, which raised speculation whether the company is looking to completely take its hands off sports sponsorship.
STX had told the KBO it would give its final answer over a possible Unicorns takeover by Sunday but the baseball body is concerned about securing more time to find an alternative bidder.
``STX told us that its is not in a position to give us a quick answer over the baseball team and asked us for more time to discuss it. However, we can't waste any more time,'' said KBO secretary general Ha Il-sung.
The failed talks with STX comes as a big blow to the KBO, which had been looking to find a new owner for the Unicorns, one of baseball's most proudest franchises with four Korean Series titles.
STX, established as the sole bidder for the Unicorns by the KBO, had initially agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to buy the Suwon-based baseball club last month. However, talks were slowed after the company got tangled up in an industrial spying scandal involving its corporate rival, Doosan Heavy Industries, earlier this month, which resulted in a big blow to its public image and a dip in stock prices.
STX was seen as an oasis for domestic sports leagues that are always thirsty for corporate money. However, the company now seems to be retrieving from its initially aggressive approach in the sports business, leaving sporting bodies wondering whether they have been digging a dry well.
The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) said Wednesday that STX withdrew from its plans to sponsor its 2007-2008 V-League that starts next month.
The country's ninth-largest conglomerate had promised to finance 1.5 billion won ($1.6 million) to the federation, which is now forced to find a new corporate partner for its annual winter league a week ahead of the opening match.
The KBO had spent more than 10 billion won on the Unicorns this season, with the Hyundai Automotive Group announcing earlier this year that it would halt its support of the baseball team.
Hyundai had tried to sell off the team ahead of the season to the National Agriculture Cooperative Foundation, or Nonghyup, but the deal fell through after the labor union of the agriculture body opposed it. In an effort to save the franchise, the KBO agreed to finance the team for this season.
Professional football club Gyeongnam FC, which annually receives 4 billion won from STX in a five-year sponsorship deal signed in 2005, is also casting a wary glance on the company's recent moves.