Global Sae-A makes bid to acquire SsangYong E&C

SsangYong Engineering and Construction's headquarters in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [SSANGYONG ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION]

Global Sae-A, a Korean company that owns various apparel and textile manufacturers, is bidding to acquire SsangYong Engineering & Construction (E&C).

Global Sae-A submitted a letter of intent to buy the construction company, although the value of the deal wasn’t revealed.

If picked as the bidder, Global Sae-A will be acquiring 99.95 percent of SsangYong E&C, which is currently owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). The Dubai fund became the owner of debt-laden SsangYong E&C in 2015, after the company went under court receivership in 2014.

The construction company reported a net loss of 116.4 billion won ($93 million) last year, compared to a net loss of 10.6 billion won the previous year. Revenue fell 3.22 percent on year to 1.4 trillion won.

Global Sae-A proposed in its letter of intent to additionally acquire new shares issued by SsangYong E&C to finance the struggling company, although a specific amount was not disclosed.

Global Sae-A is a holding company that owns various subsidiaries in apparel and textile making. It owns 61.94 percent of Sae-A Trading and 65 percent of apparel retailer In The F, which is behind brands such as Trugen, Tate and Bind. It wholly owns Sae-A STX Entech, a company specializing in construction of energy power plants.

The company expects synergies if the acquisition goes through, with SsangYong E&C helping construction projects of various Global Sae-A companies.

Global Sae-A has various subsidiaries abroad such as wholly-owned yarn maker Sae-A Spinning in Costa Rica and Win Textile, an Indonesian textile maker owned 70 percent by the company. The acquisition is expected to help the construction company get more deals abroad and allow Global Sae-A subsidiaries to expand their overseas facilities.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]