SsangYong’s rehabilitation plan earns the approval of the Seoul bankruptcy court

SsangYong Motor finally picked its preliminary bidder in June, and the KG Mobility consortium has been named. Now the South Korean automaker has gone under the KG Group after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved the rehabilitation plan it submitted earlier.

The court approval comes not long after SsangYong Motor's shareholders and creditors finally approved its restructuring scheme that has been rejected several weeks ago. It was noted that the “go ahead” signal was actually granted after a year and eight months since the automaker went into court receivership for a second time when Edison Motors failed to produce payment for its acquisition.

KG Group consortium stepped in to place its bid for the acquisition of SsangYong as it was placed back into the market after a failed deal with Edison Motors. As per Korea Joongang Daily, the consortium is composed of big firms such as KG Eco Technology Services (ETS), KG Mbilians, KG Steel, Cactus Private Equity, KG Inicis, and Pavilion Private Equity firm. KG Mobility is purely owned by KG ETS, an energy firm that is 47% owned by KG Chemical.

"The approval came with 95.04 percent of agreement from our creditors, and 100 percent from secured creditors and shareholders," the automaker stated after the court’s approval of its rehabilitation scheme has been announced. "Now it allows SsangYong to gain a foothold to pave the way for normalization."

Pulse News reported that the KG Group-led consortium may offer an additional KRW30 billion, which will bring the value of the acquisition to more than KRW355.5 billion. The group is doing this to cover for SsangYong Motor’s overdue payment to creditors.

"I truly appreciate all who supported us for the plan to be approved," SsangYong Motor’s manager appointed by the court, Chung Yong Won, said. "We will exert all efforts to repay all to our creditors, stakeholders, and customers who believed us by making the company a sustainable one."

KG Chemical’s chief executive officer, Kwak Jae Sun, further added, "It is with great pleasure that the court approves the rehabilitation plan and I sincerely appreciate all SsangYong employees who tried their best during the process. KG will fully support SsangYong for its business normalization and regain trust in the market."