Ruia to visit South Korea this month

The Rs 3000-crore Ruia group continues to remains “positive” on its prospective acquisition of ailing South Korean auto-maker Ssangyong Motors, which was put on the block under court-led restructuring after going bankrupt.

Six suitors, including Mahindra & Mahindra and Renault, have expressed their intention to acquire the firm, which counts China's SIAC as a major shareholder, and are expected to submit their financial bids by August 10.

Pawan Ruia, the group's chairman, is expected to travel to South Korea later this month, a spokesperson said, to attend Ssangyong's management presentation. “He will be travelling with the acquisition team. He is likely to visit the car-maker's facilities as well,” the spokesperson said.

However, he refused to divulge any information either on the possible valuation of the automobile manufacturer, citing secrecy agreements, or on the report submitted by accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, which is advising Ruia on the deal. “A final decision will be taken subsequent to Mr Ruia's visit,” the spokesperson added.

In an interview last month, Ruia had expressed his apprehensions about Ssangyong's substantial liabilities as well as the valuations being quotes by the media.

“Based on our valuation of the company (Ssangyong), we feel that it will certainly be a leveraged buyout. But things are premature. At this point, we don’t know if we are talking about $50 million or $500 million or a billion, because the company has losses, (that has been the) perpetual situation, and the Ebitda numbers are literally negative. So, we have to see what the numbers are,” he had said.