POSCO signs preliminary deal to buy Daewoo International

South Korea's POSCO said on Tuesday it had signed a preliminary agreement to buy Daewoo International (047050.KS), in what could become its biggest acquisition to date as the steelmaker looks to secure raw materials and boost overseas sales.
POSCO beat retail-focused local rival Lotte Group to snap up Daewoo earlier this month, after offering a higher-than-expected 3.4 trillion won ($2.8 billion) for a 68 percent stake in the country's biggest trading company, a source said.
Buying Daewoo, which also develops raw materials and ships POSCO steel products overseas, would give the world's No.4 steelmaker big resource assets such as an 8 trillion won gas development in Myanmar, a nickel project in Madagascar and coal projects in Australia.
POSCO wants to complete the deal by September.
Prior to the announcement, shares in POSCO, which is almost entirely dependent on imported iron ore and coking coal, closed down 2.1 percent and Daewoo shares dropped 5.6 percent, versus a 2.8 percent drop in the wider market.