A co-court receivership manager of Ssangyong Motor has said it is contacting several “advanced companies” in foreign countries for the sale of the Korean SUV specialist.
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“The potential buyers we are making preliminary contacts are strategic investors who have been slow in Asian operations and whose products do not overlap ours,” Lee Yoo-il was quoted as saying by the Korea Herald.
Lee did not name potential investors, but said they do not include Volkswagen, Japanese or Russian companies.
Lee added that the potential buyers should create synergy, including sharing platforms and collaboration in small car development. “The process to find a potential buyer will officially start in late November or early December – as soon as it receives a court approval of its revival plans,” he said.
Lee also said that Ssangyong would develop an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle within the next five years as part of its long term strategy.
The company said that it will restructure its product lineup to focus on mid-sized and small crossover utility vehicles and develop a fuel-efficient powertrain suited to the new lineup.
According to the company’s estimates, successful execution of the plans will return the company to profitability after about three years.
The company said that significant improvements in terms of productivity and labour-management relations have already been initiated.
“The union’s decision to leave the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions provides the key to stabilising the labour-management relations,” the company said. “[We] will establish advanced labour-management relations by the end of the year.”
However, the company still needs to receive approval for its revival plans from the courts if it is to buy time for normalisation under court receivership.
In addition to court approval, the plans must be accepted by 75% of creditors with collateral, two of three creditors without collateral and half of the shareholders if they are to be implemented.
The second meeting of concerned parties is on 6 November and the bankruptcy court will set a schedule for the third meeting, when the decision to accept or reject the revival plan will be put to a vote at a later date.
Ssangyong, however, appears confident that its plan will be accepted.
The company said that, despite the prolonged sit-in strike, its value as a continued entity remains KRW357.2bn (US$306m) more than its liquidation value and that, as the revival plans were formulated to minimise damages to all concerned parties, it does not anticipate difficulties in winning approval.
Having executed restructuring measures, including selling real estate and drastically cutting its payroll, the troubled SUV specialist is now looking to boost sales as it strives for normalisation, the Herald said.
