The sale of 41.8% of Korea Aerospace Industries (047810.SE) for KRW1.05 trillion ($926 million) collapsed Friday as shareholders received just one preliminary bid--from Korea Air Lines Co. (003490.SE). <\/p>\n
Public-auction laws stipulate there must be two or more bidders for a sale to proceed. <\/p>\n
It is the latest illustration of the difficulty of doing deals ahead of a the presidential election in December. Incumbent Lee Myung-bak is struggling with low public approval near the end of his term. <\/p>\n
A stakeholders' meeting will now decide if the block will be offered again, shareholders for KAI, led by state-run Korea Finance Corp., said in a statement Friday without stating a date. <\/p>\n
This outcome has been widely expected since mid-August when just one letter of intent to bid was received. <\/p>\n
The 41.8% slice of Korea Aerospace was offered by Korea Finance, Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMLY), Doosan Group and Samsung Techwin Co. (012450.SE). Together they own 56.7%. <\/p>\n
Korea Aerospace was formed in 1999 by the merger of the aerospace divisions of Samsung, Hyundai and the now defunct Daewoo following difficulties encountered during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. <\/p>\n
The government failed three times in as many years to privatize the nation's largest financial holding company, Woori Finance Holdings (053000.SE). The plan to list state-owned KDB Financial Group before the year is also being opposed by some lawmakers. <\/p>\n
Write to Kanga Kong at kanga.kong@dowjones.com<\/a> <\/p>\n Subscribe to WSJ: http:\/\/online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Read more: <\/p>\n Korea Aerospace Sale Falls Apart After Korean Air Is Only Bidder<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The sale of 41.8% of Korea Aerospace Industries (047810.SE) for KRW1.05 trillion ($926 million) collapsed Friday as shareholders received just one preliminary bid--from Korea Air Lines Co. (003490.SE) Continue reading