KDB to pick DSME adviser

Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME), is planning to resume the sale of the shipyard in 2010 after selecting an adviser for the sale before the end of this year.

“We want to sell a controlling stake in the shipbuilder as soon as possible,” KDB’s CEO Min Euoo-sung said. “Detailed issues will be discussed later by creditors.”

The state-run KDB and the Korea Asset Management Corp. hold a combined 50.4% stake in DSME after swapping debt for equity in December 2000, rescuing the company from near collapse. KDB terminated an estimated over 6 trillion won deal with Hanwha Group for Daewoo Shipbuilding in January this year and said it plans to re-invite bids for the sale of the shipbuilder.

Hanwha Group was chosen as the preferred bidder to buy the shipyard but the deal fell through as the group sought to revise the terms of its offer in the light of the global recession.