[Market Now] Dongbu Steel not for sale anymore

Dongbu Steel, the ailing steelmaking affiliate of South Korea’s Dongbu Group, said that its creditors have stopped their attempt to sell the steelmaker.

“With creditors’ debt-to-equity swap plan and improved earnings of the company amid business conditions in the steel industry, M&A attempts have been stopped,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its main creditor Korea Development Bank has been struggling to find a suitor for the steelmaker due to lack of interest from potential buyers.

Dongbu Steel was put up for sale in October last year, when it was placed under a debt workout program led by its creditors.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)