Iran firm buys Daewoo unit

Creditors of Daewoo Electronics Corp. said yesterday that they have signed a final deal to sell Korea’s third-largest electronics company to Entekhab Industrial Group of Iran.

Daewoo Electronics, which has been under a debt rescheduling program since August 1999, is a former subsidiary of the now-defunct Daewoo Group. Creditors acquired a combined 97.5 percent stake in Daewoo Electronics through a debt-for-equity swap.

Since selecting Entekhab as the prime bidder in April, creditor banks led by Woori Financial Group have been in talks with the Iranian firm to set a price.

The price for the controlling stake was reportedly set at 577.7 billion won ($518.7 million), which is less than the 605 billion won Entekhab proposed initially. The buyer will take over Daewoo Electronics’ outstanding assets and debts along with the stake.

“The transaction will be completed if Entekhab Industrial Group pays for the stake within three months,” a creditor bank official said.

The Iranian buyer plans to make a major investment in Daewoo Electronics to expand its market share to 10 percent of the Middle Eastern and African markets by 2013. Yonhap