Videocon may buy Daewoo division

Videocon group is hoping to clinch the electronic division of Daewoo soon.

The chairman of the group, Venugopal Dhoot told reporters here that the differences with the creditors would be sorted out and Daewoo electronics would be part of Videocon soon.

"We have finalized the negotiations. Our group will acquire Daewoo electronics soon,"he added. Dhoot also claimed that it has already tied up the funds required for the buy-out. It may be noted that Videocon led consortium had submitted a revised bid to the creditors of Daewoo Electronics for buying their stake in the electronics major.

Dhoot added that they were confident of picking up 97.5 per cent stake in Daewoo Electronics. "The creditors are keen to hand over Daewoo's assets to a company that is already in the durables business rather than going for a private equity fund," a Videocon official said.

The other contender for Daewoo's assets is South Korean equity fund MBK Partners. It was set up by former employees of US fund Carlyle Group.

Last month, the Videocon-led consortium had lost its preferred bidder status after the creditors of the ailing company rejected its proposal to acquire Daewoo for a lower price.

The Videocon consortium had asked for a 13 per cent discount on the initial bidding price of $ 752 million (Rs 3,150 crore) to acquire 97.5 per cent stake in the company.