daewoo ship＇s bid seｌection to be delayed ｆrom august

korea development bank, set to sell a controlling stake in daewoo shipbuilding &﹔ marine engineering co., said the seｌection of a preferred bidder may be postponed ｆrom august because of due﹣diligence delays. "there＇s a possibility we won＇t be able to seｌect a preferred bidder in august,＇＇ korea development bank spokesman sung joo yung said today by telephone in seoul, where the bank ａnd the shipbuilder are based. korea development bank is also arranger of the sale. state﹣controlled korea development bank ａnd korea asset management corp. are selling 50.4 percent of the world＇s third﹣ largest shipbuilder, a stake worth3.49 trillion won ($3.5 billion), based on today＇s closing price of 36,200 won. the transaction will be the largest in the shipbuilding industry.
korea development bank has yet to conduct due diligence on the daewoo shipbuilding sale because union workers have blocked bank officials ｆrom entering the company＇s offices in the past month. workers are demａnding the stake should be sold in blocks ａnd that they be consulted before a buyer is chosen.
daewoo shipbuilding＇s management is now in talks with the union to allow korea development officials to conduct due diligence, saying a delay in sales could disrupt production.
shares of daewoo shipbuilding gained 0.3 percent to close at 36,200 won in seoul. the stock has ｄropped 30 percent this year, compared with a 20 percent decline in south korea＇s kospi index.
sale arranger
the sale was also delayed after korea development bank decided in may to hａndle the sale on its own. the state﹣ controlled lender scrapped an april decision to engage goldman sachs group inc. as co﹣adviser.
the state﹣owned bank ａnd goldman ``failed to reach an agreement＇＇ on terms of the contract as stake﹣sale adviser, according to a may 18 statement that didn＇t provide more details.
south korean media, including edaily, said in may korea development bank decided not to hire goldman because of a potential conflict of interest related to goldman＇s stake in an unidentified chinese shipyard.
posco, asia＇s third﹣largest steelmaker, doosan group, gs group ａnd hanwha group have said they will bid for the stake in daewoo shipbuilding. stx group said on june 18 it is considering a purchase ａnd will make a decision later.