Three affiliates of embattled Tong Yang Group on Monday filed for court receivership as a last resort to avert bankruptcy after they failed to secure funds to keep afloat, the group said.
South Korea's 38th-largest conglomerate said its three units -- Tongyang Inc., Tong Yang Leisure Co. and Tongyang International Inc. -- requested a court's order earlier in the day for a corporate revival process.
The troubled family-run company has been faced with mounting pressure to secure money to repay its debts worth 110 billion won ($102.1 million) maturing on Sept. 30. It needs to pay back a total of 1.1 trillion won worth of liabilities by the end of this year.
Just before noon, the Seoul Central District Court issued a comprehensive ban on all financial claims and obligations related to Tong Yang Group.
The court issues a comprehensive prohibition before it makes the final decision on whether to approve the receivership, which normally takes about 20 working days.
The group has been striving to avoid a default by putting some of its key assets up for sale, but had no success as few buyers showed interest in acquiring its thermal power and home appliance units, even though their balance sheets have remained sound.
"I fully realize the responsibility as the group's chief for executives and staff who made relentless efforts to salvage the company in a limited time," Tong Yang Group Chairman Hyun Jae-hyun said in a statement. He promised to minimize losses for investors by complying with the restructuring procedure in an "orderly manner."
The conglomerate is considering placing Tongyang Cement & Energy Corp. for a debt workout and Tongyang Networks Corp. for court receivership, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The group will also seek ways with creditors of its other non-financial units, which have relatively sounder balance sheets, to either split them from the group or turn things around through a debt workout program, according to the sources.
Tong Yang Group's liquidity crisis has sparked thousands of investors to flock to nearby brokerage branches to withdraw their assets. Tongyang Securities Inc., its brokerage arm, has received a deluge of complaints from investors.
In a press briefing held earlier, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Choi Soo-hyun reassured investors that the group's assets are under control.
But he admitted that partial losses from the commercial papers (CPs) or corporate bonds sold by Tong Yang Group are inevitable since such types of short-term debt are not protected by the authorities.
The FSS estimates that about 16,000 retail investors hold Tong Yang Group's CPs worth a total of 456.3 billion won, with some 31,000 others having invested in 1 trillion won worth of corporate bonds sold by the conglomerate.
Industry watchers expect that Tong Yang Group will likely undergo a break-up process as the court will order the group to sell off its assets.
Tong Yang Group has a cross-shareholding structure, a common tactic used by Korean conglomerates to control their entire business with a handful of stakes in their respective holding companies that own other affiliates.
Tong Yang Group started off in 1970s as a cement manufacturer, founded by late Chairman Lee Yang-gu, before growing into a family-controlled conglomerate with more than 30 affiliates under its wing.
As of end-June, the debt-to-equity ratio of Tong Yang Group stood at 650.6 percent. Usually a firm with a 200 percent or below debt ratio is considered safe. (Yonhap News)
