SK Group, South Korea’s third largest conglomerate, today denied it was taking over troubled yard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
“Rumours that SK Group has sought to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co are groundless,” SK Holdings Co said in a filing to the Korea Exchange.
Shares of DSME leapt as much as 20% this morning on the back of local reports linking SK with taking over Korea Development Bank’s (KDB) stake in the shipbuilder.
KDB also dismissed the SK links. SK is a diverse conglomerate, with businesses that include energy and shipping.
DSME has had to be handed billions of dollars of extra credit in recent weeks to fend off financial disaster. It has racked up huge losses this year from offshore projects that have not worked out as well as alleged accounting malpractice.
KDB has said it is keen to offload its controlling stake in DSME as soon as possible.
