South Korean SUV specialist is for sale. This news comes after India’s Mahindra and Mahindra said it could give up its majority stake in the struggling company. SsangYong has picked an advisor to tap markets for a new investor, a spokesman for the South Korean company said.
Shares in the carmaker closed up 30 percent after South Korean media, citing unnamed sources, said on Friday that China’s Geely and BYD might be interested in SsangYong, which is 74.65% owned by Mahindra and Mahindra.
Officially though, a representative for Geely, however, said the carmaker has no plan to participate in any bidding for SsangYong. Electric vehicle maker BYD declined to comment.
SsangYong is burdened with high debt and reported its 13th consecutive quarterly operating loss in January to March. It suffered from sluggish sales even before the spread of COVID-19 due to tough competition in the SUV market.
An executive at Mahindra said last week that the Indian company was willing to let go of its ownership stake in SsangYong.
The stake at is valued at around USD 274 million.
Ssangyong's pricing range for their cars are a bit high compared to others known brands. Heck, Geely priced their Coolray bit cheaper than the Tivoli. Also note that Coolray has more techs.
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