Videocon consortium submits fresh bid for Daewoo

Mumbai: A consortium of Videocon and US-based fund Ripplewood has submitted a revised bid for acquiring South Korea's Daewoo Electronics, a month after the original bid was rejected and the consortium lost the preferred bidder status.

Videocon sources said they were confident of picking up a 97.5-per cent stake in Daewoo Electronics. "The creditors are keen to hand over Daewoo's assets to a company that is already in the durables business rather than opt for another equity fund," sources said.

The only other strong contender for Daewoo's assets is South Korean equity fund MBK Partners, which was set up by former employees of US fund Carlyle Group.

The Videocon-led consortium lost its preferred bidder status after the 40-odd creditors of the ailing company rejected its proposal to acquire Daewoo for a lower price following due diligence.

The Videocon consortium had asked for a 13 per cent discount on the initial bidding price of $752 million to acquire a 97.5 per cent stake in the company.

Company sources, however, refused to reveal the financial details of the revised bid. "The results are expected in a month," they said. Venugopal Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Industries, also declined to comment.

The sources, however, said the consortium was expecting a positive reply from the creditors of Daewoo, led by Woori Bank within four to five days.