Kumho Tire’s dramatic, fateful day

Cash-strapped Kumho Tire went through a rollercoaster ride Friday as the creditors, labor union and the government scurried to avoid the worst-case scenario of a court receivership just hours before the midnight deadline to agree to an acquisition by a Chinese investor.

Tension had notched up when Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon held a joint press conference pressing the labor union in the morning, before taking a dramatic turn in the afternoon when the union took a step back and announced they would hold votes on the matter.

The labor union also came to an emergency meeting with representatives of the government, the creditors and the company from around 4 p.m. in what would be the “make or break” negotiation for the country’s No. 2 tiremaker.

“We appreciate the labor union for deciding to hold a vote of members to conclude the position on the acquisition,” said Kumho Tire President Yoon Jang-hyun at the meeting.

Also at the meeting were Financial Services Commissioner Choi Jong-ku, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee In-ho, KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull, Kumho Tire Chairman Kim Jong-ho, Union head Cho Sam-soo, Tripartite commission Chairman Moon Sung-hyun, and Mayor of Gwangju Yoon Jang-hyun.

FSC’s Choi said that the utmost priority would be to prepare the basis to normalize the firm and protect jobs.

Kumho Tire’s creditors, led by KDB, have been pushing to sell the money-losing tiremaker to China’s Doublestar Tire. The plan, however, has faced strong opposition from Kumho Tire’s union.

The creditors had set Friday as the final deadline for the labor union, saying they would trigger an event of default at midnight. An event of default is a condition that allows lenders to seize collateral and demand full repayment on a loan when it appears the borrower is unable to repay the loan in the future.

A ballot of the labor union must be completed by this Sunday as the maturity date for the company’s 27 billion-won ($25.3 million) loan is due on Monday.

The emergency meeting came hours after Deputy Prime Minister Kim, along with the chiefs from the Trade Ministry, the SME Ministry, the Financial Services Commission and Korea Development Bank, urged the labor union to avoid the worst promising government-wide support to address their concerns.

“Massive investment is the only way to improve Kumho Tire’s poor financial structure and to establish a foothold to normalize the firm,” Kim said.

“There must be concerns among the employees on the new management due to the change of major shareholders. But, the government will take safety measures so that the foreign investors will not leave after making easy money.”

KDB said the safety measures will require the investor not to sell within five years of the acquisition or to leave unless all the creditors leave.

“If the new investment is made, the creditors will inject a new fund of 200 billion won and support Kumho Tire to be normalized through extension of debt maturities and a fall in the interest rate,” the finance minister said.

Kumho Tire had first applied for workout in December 2009. Since then, the firm has been embroiled in heavy tug-of-war among the Group Chairman Park Sam-koo, the creditors and China‘s Doublestar, which was selected as a preferred bidder in January 2017.

Park had submitted self-rescue measures in December last year but the creditors turned it down. Park later withdrew his long-held ambition to regain the tire unit that had been considered the group’s roots.

The labor union, meanwhile has been vehemently opposing the sell-off to Doublestar, arguing that the foreign form will take its key technology and later close the firm.

The confrontation spilled over among other employees, who urged the staunch labor union to come to terms with the acquisition plan or face complete collapse of the firm.

Kumho Tire’s shares fluctuated throughout the day. It saw a 5 percent drop from Thursday’s close in the morning, dipping to a 52-week low of 3,345 won per share. It later surged 30 percent to 4,615 won per share, as of Friday 2:30 p.m., when the labor union announced it would hold the ballot.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com), Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)