Woori sale up in the air as MBK emerges as sole bidder

MBK, backed by Goldman Sachs and the Canada Pension Plan, made an undisclosed bid for at least 30% of Woori yesterday, which is the lowest stake size auction participants were required to bid for. The government owns 57% of the company.

The participation of South Korean private equity firms TStone Corp. and Vogo Fund was up in the air until yesterday, when they ultimately pulled out of the process. Reports say they were put off by Woori's falling stock price as well as the global market volatility.

The government will now decide whether the sale process will proceed. This is the second time the government has launched an auction for the asset. In May, it restarted the auction process for Woori, the country's third-largest financial services group. It first sought to sell the asset nearly a year earlier but the auction stalled in December due to a lack of competitive interest.

Korea's financial industry and media have questioned whether the government is truly serious about selling Woori. Politicians have spoken out against selling the country's top financial institutions to private equity firms, who are perceived to be the only profiteers of such transactions.

Woori's stock is down 22% year-to-date. It closed Wednesday at KRW12,100 ($11.31).

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Financing
• MBK Partners
• Goldman Sachs
• Vogo Investment