International firms bid for Woori takeover

Six companies submitted letters of intent to the South Korean government to buy Woori’s 57% stake.

Hong Kong's Affinity Equity Partners and several other foreign private equity firms have submitted letters of intent to bid for a controlling stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co., the Korea Economic Daily reported Saturday, without saying where it got the information.

Carlyle Group, MBK Partners, Australia's Macquarie Bank, the U.K.'s Aviva Group and MetLife Inc. of the U.S. also submitted Friday their letters of intent to buy a 57% stake of Woori Finance up for sale by the South Korean government, the report said.

Separately, Carlye and Macquarie have also shown their interest in both Kyongnam Bank and Kwangju Bank, two Woori affiliates that are also up for sale, it said.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (IDCBY) has submitted its letter of intent to buy Kwangju Bank, according to the newspaper.

Separately, the Maeil Business Newspaper said Woori Finance, which is seeking to survive on its own, has formed three different consortia, each led by Woori employees, major corporate clients of Woori and foreign investors, and submitted their letters of intent, respectively.

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