By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
The chief executive of Daewoo Electronics, the maker of refrigerators and washers, said Wednesday that it will find a new owner by the end of July this year, at the earliest.
"The sale process will be completed sometime in July after two more months of internal check-ups by the preferred negotiator," CEO Lee Sung said in a press conference held in a Seoul hotel.
Lee was attending on the sidelines of an event to launch 25 of its new home appliances.
"We won't drop the brand 'Daewoo' even after the acquisition. Thanks to intensive workout programs, Daewoo is well positioned in terms of labor and unit efficiencies," the top executive said.
The remarks came after Iranian appliance maker Entekhab Industrial Group was named as the preferred bidder for Daewoo in a deal reportedly worth over $540 million.
Daewoo's leading creditor Woori Bank is aiming to sign a preliminary deal with Entekhab soon and hopes the final agreement materializes by the end of July.
Sweden-based appliance giant Electrolux was named as the reserve bidder in case the deal with Entekhab falls through.
"Daewoo is very cautious about discussing the ongoing deal as we had previously failed to find a buyer. No matter what the situation is, the critical point is how Daewoo can secure a competitive edge, internally," Lee told reporters.
It is the fourth attempt to sell Daewoo Electronics, once the flagship unit of the failed Daewoo Group and now almost wholly owned by its creditors.
Daewoo sold off most of its non-core operations and is now left with only its washing machines and refrigerators. It sold four divisions ― air-conditioning, vacuum cleaners, automobiles and televisions ― in 2009.
Lee said Daewoo will run massive marketing campaigns possibly from the latter half of this year at a time when consumers are spending more on electronics goods amid a global economic recovery.
Daewoo Electronics reported a 13-fold rise year-on-year in operating profit at 41 billion won on Feb. 1, 2010. Total revenue, however, was down 40 percent at 1.13 trillion won against 1.9 trillion won from the previous year due to the restructuring of the business division.
Export-focused Daewoo, which competes with bigger local rivals such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and low-cost Chinese producers in the overseas markets, was generating 85 percent of its total revenue overseas by applying intensive marketing strategies.