Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS) City-based Ruia Group Sunday said it will make a bid to buy out troubled South Korean SsangYong Motor Company.
‘Ruia Group is indeed bidding for SsangYong. This has been decided in a meeting today (Sunday) presided by Pawan Kumar Ruia, chairman, Ruia Group,’ the Group said in a statement.
The Ruia Group and Mahindra & Mahindra are the two Indian corporations among the six suitors shortlisted to bid for the bankrupt South Korean firm SsangYong Motor.
The last date for bid submission is August 10.
Mahindra & Mahindra Saturday said the board had approved the company’s plan to submit a binding bid for a majority stake in Ssangyong.
The Ruia Group chairman Thursday had hinted at the possiblity of the group bidding for Ssangyong, saying it is ‘evaluating’ the car-maker, whose present market cap is $400 million.
Indian automotive makers are looking for a presence overseas, where car prices and profit margins are said to be higher.
Ssangyong, which has about two percent of the South Korean market, exports to Russia, Europe, China, Middle-East, Africa, North and South America and the Asia-Pacific.
The other firms are in the race are South Korea’s private equity fund Seoul Invest, Daewoo Bus and Renault-Samsung.
In December 2009, the Seoul Central District Court had approved the debt-ridden SsangYong’s restructuring plan.
Media reports say SsangYong has run up a debt of $1 billion. The majority shareholder Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) had lost management control when SsangYong filed for bankruptcy.
