South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo has begun a public bidding process as part of a sale tied to the broader financial distress at JoongAng Group. The move comes after the paper entered a workout, or creditor-led debt restructuring, and selected Samil PwC last month as its M&A adviser.
The planned deal is structured around a new stock issuance rather than a direct sale of the current controlling stake. Creditors led by Hana Bank appear to have chosen that route because JoongAng Holdings, the major shareholder, is already in court-led rehabilitation, which would require prior court approval to sell existing shares.
The deadline for letters of intent is the 20th of this month. After that, the company will narrow the field of bidders, conduct due diligence and select a preferred negotiating partner.
JTBC, the group’s general programming cable channel, also said last month that it would begin a sale process for management normalization after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court opened rehabilitation proceedings on Aug. 28. With both the newspaper and broadcaster now on the market, JoongAng Group is confronting a rare simultaneous sale of its print and broadcast arms.
