GM wants to take over Daewoo Motor

[Ulhas Joglekar]

6 December 1999 :
GM wants to take over Daewoo Motor
SEOUL: US automaker General Motors Corp officially expressed the carmaker's
intention to take over ailing Daewoo Motor Co, a local news agency said
Sunday.
Lawrence Zahner, head of GM China, told South Korean reporters in Shanghai
that GM hopes to take over Daewoo Motor's domestic and overseas operations,
state Yonhap news agency said.
Zahner said GM would keep the Daewoo Motor brand even after a possible
takeover, but declined to comment on the progress of ongoing talks between
the two carmakers, Yonhap said.
A Daewoo Motor spokesman declined to comment, saying they don't have
sufficient information on the news report, while GM officials in Seoul were
unavailable for comment on Sunday.
Daewoo group narrowly escaped going bankrupt when its domestic creditors
agreed in June to delay repayment of $ 8.3 billion in debt for six-months
and extend $ 3.3 billion in new loans.
In return, Daewoo agreed to sell or spin off 13 subsidiaries. Its 12 other
units were placed under a debt-workout programme that calls for creditor
banks to turn debts into equity or delay debt payment.
GM and Daewoo Motor have been in talks on forming a strategic alliance since
August. Lee Hun-jai, head of the financial supervisory commission, the
government watchdog for corporate restructuring, has said that GM expressed
strong interest in taking over Daewoo Motor.
But it marks the first time that a GM official has confirmed it. Daewoo
Motor, South Korea's second largest automaker, produced 900,000 vehicles
last year. At the end of last year, it had $ 13.3 billion in total assets
and $ 9.8 billion in debt.(AP)

 For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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