2 Preferred Bidders Chosen for Daewoo E&C

The Middle East-based private equity fund Jabez Partners and the TR America Consortium of the U.S. were selected yesterday as the preferred bidders for Daewoo Engineering and Construction.

The Kumho Asiana Group said it reviewed three domestic and foreign investors that submitted bids for Daewoo E&C. Jabez, TR and a consortium including a Russian company had submitted their final bids by the Wednesday deadline.

Jabez is a private equity fund in which United Arab Emirates` (UAE) Abu Dhabi Investment Co., one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, is a major investor.

The major investor of TR America Consortium is Tishman Construction, the top builder in New York in revenue that built the World Trade Center and Bank of America Tower.

Kumho said “Since the two bidders are considered proven investors with funding capability, we selected them as the dual preferred bidders. This is a general way of encouraging healthy competition and increasing negotiating power to the acquirer in the process of an M&A.”

Though the takeover price was not released, Jabez and TR are known to have offered more than 20,000 won (17.32 U.S. dollars) per share. The final acquisition price will be set within five to 10 percent of the offered price after due diligence.

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