STX Pan Ocean Sale Fails To Attract Bids, Bank Considering Other Options

STX Pan Ocean’s Ocean Vanguard, image: STX

SEOUL, March 29 (Reuters) – An initial round of bidding to acquire a controlling stake in South Korean bulk shipper STX Pan Ocean Co failed to attract any bids, the company’s largest shareholder STX Corp said on Friday.

STX Corp will decide future plans for the sale after discussing the situation with its main creditor bank, it said in a regulatory filing.

A spokesman for STX declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

STX Corp, STX Group affiliates and executives had put up for sale a combined 36 percent stake in STX Pan Ocean, which had a market value of 323.3 billion won ($290.58 million) as of Friday’s closing price excluding management premium.

STX Corp’s main creditor, Korea Development Bank, will review ways to ease STX’s financial troubles including a possible acquisition of additional stakes in STX Pan Ocean if no potential bidders emerged, a source with direct knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.

Korea Development Bank is the second-largest shareholder in STX Pan Ocean with a 15 percent stake.

STX Corp, a holding company of STX Group, has been shedding assets to stabilize the group’s financial position including a stake in affiliate STX Energy and controlling stake in Singapore-listed STX OSV Holdings.

($1 = 1112.6000 Korean won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Matt Driskill)

(c) 2013 Thomson Reuters, Click For Restrictions

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