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November 16, 2007 |
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HANAROTELECOM: Names SK Telecom as Preferred Bidder hanaracom Inc. named SK Telecom as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in the company, various reports says citing bid adviser Goldman Sachs. According to Antara News, SK Telecom Co. confirmed on November 14 that it has submitted its official proposal to take over a controlling stake of hanarotelecom Inc. As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific on Nov. 12, 2007, SK Telecom considered to buy a major stake in hanarotelecom, ending widespread speculation about its interest in the broadband provider. hanarotelecom executives said the news agency that local strategic investors were in the race for the company. TCR-AP noted. According to TCR-AP, American International Group and Newbridge Capital is looking to sell a 40% stake in hanarotelecom. The consortium bought the shares for US$500 million in 2003, the report said. Reuters says SK Telecom is set to take a US$1.1 billion controlling stake in hanarotelecom. SK Telecom's bid price for 38.9% of Hanarotelecom wasn't disclosed, though local media have speculated it may have offered to buy the stake at KRW12,500 a share, The Herald says. Macquarie Group Ltd. was the main loser, The Herald relates. It had bid through its private equity fund based in Seoul and in conjunction with South Korea's National Pension Service and several other financial investors. SK Telecom spokeswoman Mina Ryu said, given "due diligence, final negotiations, a board meeting and the government's review, we expect the deal to be completed in about three months from now.", The Herald notes. About Hanarotelecom Hanarotelecom Inc. -- http://www.hanaro.com/ -- is the second largest player in the Korean local telephone market. It provides high-speed Internet services in Korea. It provides high-speed Internet services in Korea. In June 2001, the company integrated broadband Internet access services which included ADSL, Hybrid Fiber Coaxial cables and Broadband Wireless Local Loop into a single brand called HanaFOS. hanarotelecom offers VoIP services to its broadband business customers as a bundled service and also as a stand alone service. * * * Moody's Investor Service has given hanarotelecom's long-term corporate family and its senior unsecured debt 'Ba2' ratings. Standard and Poor's gave both hanarotelecom's long-term foreign issuer credit and long-term local foreign issuer credit 'BB' ratings. |
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