By Kim Jae-won
Kumho Asiana Group said Tuesday that it had signed a deal to reacquire Kumho Buslines from the private equity consortium IBKS KStone, three years after the group sold the company when it was hit by a liquidity crunch.
Kumho agreed to buy a 100 percent stake in the company for 415 billion won, according to the group. It paid 50 billion won to the consortium, and promised to pay the remaining money after getting approval from a government regulator.
“We could complete the deal as both sides agreed to the terms. With the repurchase of Kumho Buslines, we will do our best to rebuild the group,” Kumho said in a statement.
The group sold the bus company in 2012 when it was hit hard by a liquidity crunch. The group had sought to reacquire the company because the group originally came from the affiliate. Kumho Asiana was given the first right to repurchase the company when the group sold the bus unit.
The announcement comes as the group is in talks with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors to reacquire Kumho Industrial, the de facto holding company of the group. KDB and creditors agreed to negotiate with the group’s chairman, Park Sam-koo, to sell a 57.5 percent stake in the builder.
Park is eager to buy back Kumho Industrial because it controls Asiana Airlines and other key affiliates of the group. He has been seeking to buy the group’s parent firm to piece back together the affiliates that were torn apart in the liquidity crisis.
Under the plan, accounting firms Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte Anjin will work to evaluate the builder in June, with the sell-off scheduled to take place over a two-month period, according to the state-run lender. If Park refuses to accept the price asked for by creditors, they can push for a deal with a third party within six months of the refusal.
Kumho Industrial had been struggling under mounting debt amid adverse property market conditions. It graduated from a five-year debt workout program in December.