SsangYong received three takeover bids

The long period of agony of the Korean company SsangYong Motor Co., whose cars are also sold in Romania, seems to be heading towards the end. That is if the investor who will take over the company will not fail like those who have tried to recover the company in recent years.

SsangYong’s problems became visible in early 2000, and the rescue appeared to come from Chinese group SAIC Motor Corp. which acquired in 2004 51% of the shares of the Korean manufacturer specializing in SUVs. But in 2009, the effects of the global crisis forced the Chinese group to give up investment.

Two years later another large investor, this time Indian, decided to buy 70% of SsangYong. Mahindra, the company that became the owner of the majority stake, failed to bring SsangYong back to profit.

In December 2020, Koreans are forced to file for insolvency after failing to pay a number of debts to creditors. Thus, in April 2021 SsangYong comes under judicial control for the second time after the last episode a decade ago. At the same time, the beginning of the stage of receiving bids for acquisition is announced, and 11 investors submit letters of intent.

It’s just that, at the end of the process of selecting potential investors, only three entities remain in the race, not even one being a company with a reputation in the automotive industry. Under these conditions, by the end of September, the owner of SsangYong Motor Co. will have to choose between Edison Motors, EL B&T and Indi EV Inc.

One of these investors will take over SsangYong and will have to lead the manufacturer to electrify the product range. The Koreans claim that they will be able to present on the European market their first electric vehicle – Korando Emotion.

In the first half of 2021, SsangYong reported sales of 48,229 vehicles, 15% less than in the first half of last year.

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