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SEOUL—Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is out as co-adviser of the
sale of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.,
the world’s third-biggest shipyard.
Korea
Development Bank reversed its earlier decision to have
Goldman be a preferred bidder and co-adviser of the sale
of a 50.4-percent stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding, the
state-run bank said Sunday.
The bank
and Goldman “failed to reach an agreement” on terms of
the contract as stake-sale adviser, the statement said.
Christopher Jun, Goldman’s Seoul-based spokesman,
declined to comment on the announcement by telephone.
The bank
is the biggest shareholder of Daewoo Shipbuilding, with
a 31-percent stake, which the bank is selling as it
prepares for its own privatization. Korea Asset
Management Corp., a state-run agency set up to liquidate
bad debt, holds 19 percent.
“A
procedural delay in the Daewoo Shipbuilding merger is
inevitable with this move,” said Jeong Dong Ik, an
analyst at CJ Investment & Securities Co.
“Still,
if Korea Development Bank finds a new arranger who’s
free from interest conflicts, that could make up for the
delay by avoiding a clash with its union and public
criticism,” Jeong added. He rates Daewoo Shipbuilding a
“buy.”
Daewooo
Shipbuilding’s labor union in April authorized a strike
to protest the plan to sell the shipyard stake. They
haven’t walked off the job yet.
Korea
Development Bank on April 21 said Goldman would help the
bank arrange the sale of the controlling stake in Daewoo
Shipbuilding and planned to sign an agreement soon to
jointly handle the deal.
The
contract hasn’t been signed yet, Jeong said. (Bloomberg) |
