Deciding to Pass
“We will not buy or support any other company even going out the way to lose money or bear the burden,” said Jung Seong-rip, president of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), at a press event in the company's office building on June 25. His remarks signify that the DSME will not merge with other shipbuilders which have their largest shareholder as the Korea Development Bank, neither conduct any trust management for them.
President Jung said, “Unlike the public perception, STX France is a good firm. And our company thinks that we should also enter the cruise area,” adding, “However, we've decided that pursuing an M&A deal with STX France is not appropriate at the moment. So, we have stopped any discussions about the deal.”
When asked about whether or not the company will provide support for Daehan Shipbuilding and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, he responded by saying, “We will try hard to rehabilitate them, since public funds were injected,” adding, “But we cannot accept the idea of acquiring their assets or merging with them.” As for the possibility of trust management, Jung explained, “Any type of trust management that incurs losses to our company owing to a combination of financial statements is unacceptable, aside from the one at the management consulting level. Our company is thinking about win-win cooperation like joint acquisitions.”
When it comes to the DSME's restructuring, President Jung remarked, “Large-scale layoffs may appear to help restore market confidence, but the measure will inevitably have repercussions for the company that wants intensive corporate restructuring.” He concluded by saying, “Since our firm already made our workers more efficient through a debt workout program 15 years ago, we will not suddenly slash a lot of jobs as Hyundai Heavy Industries did.”