DSME shares leap as state bank signals yard sale again

Seoul: Shares in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) leapt in early morning Seoul trading today by double digit percentage points as the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said it plans to select an adviser for the sale of the yard next week.
KDB, the shipbuilder's main creditor, and Korea Asset Management Corp. hold a combined 50.4 per cent stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding, following their debt-for-equity swap in December 2000 that rescued the company from near collapse.
KDB terminated an estimated over 6 trillion won (US$5.16 billion) deal with Hanwha Group for Daewoo Shipbuilding in January this year and said it plans to re-invite bids for the sale of the shipbuilder.
"We sent requests for proposals for the sale of the shipbuilder to around 20 financial companies, which means we put the shipbuilder back on the block," said an official at KDB. "We will pick an adviser for the sale next week at the earliest."
Hanwha Group was chosen as the preferred bidder to buy the shipyard but the deal fell through as the group sought to revise the terms of its offer amid the global economic downturn.
Separately, DSME has recently clinched a deal for a brand new ship type. RWE Innogy, a unit of German power utility RWE AG, has awarded Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd, (DSME) a contrachas chosen DSME to build a specialist ship for the construction of offshore wind farms. The contract also includes the option for two further identical construction ships. The value of the contract for each ship is around Euro 100 million. The first ship should be completed in 2011.
Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RWE Innogy GmbH, said: "The building of our own construction ships will overcome one of the most important supply bottlenecks we face in the construction of wind farms at sea. These ships will give us a decisive time and cost advantage in the North Sea and further afield in implementing our ambitious plans to expand wind energy."
The ships ordered by RWE Innogy are the first of their type in the world. They are self-elevating, self propelled platforms and are able to transport and install the largest available offshore wind turbines including foundations. With a length of 109 metres and a width of 40 metres, the ships can simultaneously transport and install up to four turbines in the multi-megawatt class. Featuring satellite control, these ships can be fixed with centimeter-precision for construction work at sea and operate in water depths of more than 40 meters. [09/12/09]

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