This file photo, taken April 5, 2021, shows SsangYong Motor’s plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The head of U.S.-based vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc. has said the company is set to submit its letter of intent this week to acquire SsangYong Motor Co., industry sources said Sunday.
HAAH Automotive Holdings founder Duke Hale said HAAH is the optimal company to acquire financially troubled SsangYong and will submit an LOI by Friday, a person familiar with the matter said over the phone.
SsangYong’s Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. had been in talks with HAAH to sell its majority stake in the Korean unit since last year as part of its global reorganization plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
HAAH was expected to submit its LOI to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court by March but it did not send the documents, raising doubts about its intention to invest in SsangYong.
In April, SsangYong was placed under court receivership for the second time after undergoing the same process a decade earlier.
Court receivership is one step short of bankruptcy in South Korea’s legal system. In receivership, the court will decide whether and how to revive the company.
As for the failure to submit an LOI, the HAAH chief said the company needed more time to look into SsangYong’s financial details before making an investment decision.
If HAAH succeeds in acquiring SsangYong, he said the California-based car importer plans to bring SsangYong’s SUV models and pickup trucks to the United States and Canada.
SsangYong plans to receive LOIs from interested investors until Friday in the auction to find its new owner.
This file photo provided by SsangYong Motor shows the New Rexton Sports SUV.
China-based SAIC Motor Corp. acquired a 51 percent stake in SsangYong in 2004 but relinquished its control of the carmaker in 2009 in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
In 2011, Mahindra acquired a 70 percent stake in SsangYong for 523 billion won and now holds a 74.65 percent stake in the SUV-focused carmaker.
KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp., the auditor of SsangYong, declined to give its opinion on the carmaker’s annual financial statements for the year 2020.
SsangYong could be delisted if its accounting firm again refuses to offer an opinion on the company’s annual performance for the following year after the one-year period.
(Yonhap)
