STX Corp. averted default as its creditors on Tuesday agreed to provide the financially distressed company with bailout funds totaling 300 billion won ($270 million).
The 300 billion won is composed of funding for the 200 billion-won-worth corporate bonds issued by STX Corp., which matured on Tuesday, and 100 billion won in emergency relief funds, said its main creditor Korea Development Bank.
Over the past week, the state-run KDB and other creditors have been in a series of heated discussions whether to rescue the nominal holding firm of STX Group.
While some creditors expressed uneasiness over the funding, they ultimately reached a consensus in the wake of alleged persuasion from the KDB and financial authorities.
They are also scheduled to hold several meetings to finalize their stance whether to bail out three more STX affiliates ― STX Heavy Industries, STX Engine and ForceTec.
On May 3, STX Group applied for joint management of the four ailing subsidiaries by creditor banks.
Though STX Corp. is the nominal holding company of the conglomerate, it has been regarded as a subsidiary of the group, controlled by STX Group chairman Kang Duck-soo.
Chairman Kang holds a 9.9 percent in STX Corp. and 69.4 percent in ForceTec, which de facto owns STX Corp.
He recently handed over his controlling stakes in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, a core affiliate of STX Group, to creditors.
While it will likely take about one or two months for the creditors to finish due diligence on the four units including STX Corp., financial authorities are striving to revive the nation’s 13th-largest business group.
By Kim Yon-se (
kys@heraldcorp.com)
