Sono International file bid to buy beleaguered Goyang Jumpers

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Sono International file bid to buy beleaguered Goyang Jumpers

Published: 17 Jul. 2023, 16:01 Updated: 17 Jul. 2023, 17:46

The Goyang Day One Jumpers, then Goyang Carrot Jumpers' gate at Goyang Gymnasium in Goyang, Gyeonggi on March 29 [YONHAP]

Korean basketball's governing body will meet this week to decide whether to accept a bid from hotel company Sono International to buy the recently expelled Goyang Day One Jumpers.

Sono International submitted the required documents to the KBL on Friday last week to acquire the Jumpers, who were expelled from the league earlier this year due to financial problems.

The KBL will review and determine whether Sono is a suitable parent company on Friday this week. If the KBL approves Sono’s takeover bid, it will bring the number of KBL teams back up to 10.

The Goyang club became the first-ever team to be expelled from the KBL in the league's 26-year history after failing to pay their players overdue salary and resolve financial problems.

Better known to many fans under the name "Orions," the Jumpers are one of the oldest teams in Korean professional basketball. Founded as the Dongyang Confectionary Basketball Team in 1996, the team went through a string of Orions names — Daegu Tongyang Orions, Daegu Orions, Goyang Orions and, most famously, Goyang Orion Orions — before being sold last year.

The Jumpers’ financial issues spiraled out of control after that sale. The problems stemmed from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which until earlier this year was the parent company of current owner Day One Asset Management. Shipbuilding company DSME is also facing financial difficulties.

Those problems only worsened when the team announced that it was parting ways with sponsor Carrot Insurance. The reason for the termination of that deal was unclear, although possibly because owner Day One Asset Management was looking for a larger sponsor or a company interested in buying a stake of the team.

The Jumpers, however, failed to find a different sponsor, which resulted in the club being unable to pay the players their salary for months.

The team will continue to look for a new sponsor, even after the potential takeover by Sono, in order to relieve its financial trouble before the 2023-24 season begins.

The location of the club will not likely change, as Sono is reportedly considering keeping the team in Goyang, Gyeonggi where the gymnasium and necessary facilities are already set up.

Should Sono’s takeover bid fail, the Goyang players on the books have to join teams through a special draft system before the 2023-24 season starts on October 21.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]