Kumho Asiana refuses to buy out Kumho Tire shares

Park Sam-koo is not going to exercise its right to buy back shares of Kumho Tire because of the ban on the creation of a consortium to finance the deal. Chairman Kumho Asiana Group described this decision as the main owner of shares, the Development Bank of Korea, as "unfair". As a result of the ban, Kumho Asiana will give up its attempt to regain the 42.01% stake in Kumho Tire.

This means that the most likely owner of the Korean tire manufacturer will be Doublestar Tire. The Chinese company entered into an agreement with Kumho's creditors in March of this year, and now it needs to close the deal for about half a year with a value of about 792 million euros, otherwise the right to buy back shares will return to Pak Sam-Ku.

Pak had to take advantage of its pre-emption right until April 19 this year, and the lenders required him to detail a plan for financing his purchase. Now lenders will negotiate with Doublestar Tire.

As stated by the edition of The Korea Herald, the main issue that Doublestar and creditors must be resolved before the transaction ends is the use of the Kumho Tire trademark. Both sides have already agreed on the use of the Kumho Tire trademark for 20 years, but this has not yet been agreed with the copyright holder - Kumho Industrial. The publication is cited by IBK Securities analyst Lee San-Yun (Lee Sang-hyun), who said that for Doublestar the use of the trademark is of great importance, as the Chinese company produces tires for trucks. "A Chinese firm can refuse a deal or pay a full price without access to the Kumho trademark," he concluded.