Korea Line Picked as Preferred Bidder in Hanjin Fire Sale

A tugboat passes Hanjin Hungary container ship at PSA’s Tanjong Pagar terminal in Singapore September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Note: The headline of this article previously incorrectly stated Hyundai Merchant Marine as being selected as the preferred bidder for some of Hanjin’s assets. The headline has been updated. 

By Kyunghee Park

(Bloomberg) — Korea Line Corp., South Korea’s second-largest bulk carrier, won a bid for some assets of Hanjin Shipping Co. in a bankruptcy sale supervised by a South Korean court.

The company beat larger rival Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. as the preferred bidder for Hanjin’s Asia-U.S. business, a spokesman for the Seoul Central District Court said in a text message Monday. Final sale documents will be signed Nov. 21, according to the court.

The sale marks the start of Hanjin’s breakup as a persistent slump in global trade led to weak demand and depressed freight rates, prompting some shipping companies like the Seoul-based operator to post losses and pile up debt. The acquisition of the Hanjin assets will mark Korea Line’s entry into the container-shipping business, posing a challenge to Hyundai Merchant on the busy U.S.-Asia trade route.

SEE ALSO: Shrinking Hanjin Fleet Signals Fall of Korean Shipping Industry

Korea Line, which trails Pan Ocean Co. among South Korean bulk-shipping companies, is expanding after exiting from bankruptcy protection protection in late-2013. Bought by Samra Midas Group that year, it operates 29 vessels hauling goods such as iron ore, crude oil and cars.

Favorable Terms

Korea Line offered better terms in its bid, including taking on all employees, the court spokesman said in the text message, without elaborating. Also included in the bid was Korea Line’s interest to buy Hanjin’s 54 percent stake in a port terminal in Long Beach, California, according to the court.

Box shipping companies carry a wide range of goods such as clothes, furniture and bananas packed in containers, while bulk carriers ship unpacked cargo including coal, chemicals and grains.

Hanjin on Monday reported a third-quarter operating loss of 309.4 billion won ($263 million), widening from a loss of 1.87 billion won a year earlier. Hyundai Merchant posted an operating loss of 230.3 billion won, compared with a loss of 77.7 billion won. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., which builds vessels used in the shipping industry, had an operating loss of 141.3 billion won, narrowing from a 646.2 billion won loss.

Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 31 after creditors balked at extending loans. Once the world’s seventh-biggest container line, its fleet has shrunk to 14 ships, about a tenth of its former size, after returning most of the chartered vessels to owners on the advise of the court.

Hanjin is also winding down its Europe business and said last week it would let go of about 700 of its crew.

The company had 7 percent market share on the Asia-U.S. trade in the first six months of this year, according to Hanjin. It hauled 1.85 million 20-foot containers on that route in 2015, accounting for 40 percent of the total of 4.62 million.

Hyundai Merchant will focus on improving its financials in the short term and strengthening its competitiveness in the long term, the company, which is undergoing a debt revamp, said in an e-mailed statement Monday. It will also add more container terminals in South Korea and overseas.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P