JoongAng Ilbo, Dow-CJ consortium... 520 billion acquisition contract signed on the 5th

JoongAng Ilbo is acquired by the Dow-CJ consortium.

JoongAng Ilbo announced on the 4th that the Dow-CJ consortium, which is the preferred bidder for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), will sign a new stock acquisition contract for JoongAng Ilbo worth a total of 520 billion won on the 5th.

Consortium participants Dow Technology, Saramin, CJ, and Shinsegae each held a board meeting on this day and approved the agenda for signing a conditional new share purchase agreement to take over management rights of JoongAng Ilbo. JoongAng Ilbo also held a board meeting on this day and decided on related agenda items.

This M&A will be carried out through a third-party allocation paid-in capital increase in which the buyer acquires new shares of JoongAng Ilbo, and through this, the Dow-CJ consortium will become the new largest shareholder of JoongAng Ilbo.

The amount invested by the Dow-CJ consortium to acquire new stocks is 520 billion won, and the ratio by investor is 36.5% for Dow Technology, 35.7% for CJ, 14.1% for Shinsegae, and 13.7% for Saramin.

The JoongAng Ilbo said that all funds invested in the acquisition of new shares will be flowed into JoongAng Ilbo and used to improve the company's financial soundness and resolve debt risks.

Previously, JoongAng Ilbo applied for corporate structure improvement work (workout) in June in the wake of the liquidity crisis of JoongAng Group affiliates, and has been pursuing the sale of management rights as part of the workout.

According to JoongAng Ilbo, this contract also included safety measures for JoongAng Ilbo's public role and internal stability.

The Dow-CJ consortium agreed to guarantee employment for JoongAng Ilbo workers, succeed to the existing collective agreement, and maintain a stable working environment without artificial restructuring.

In addition, in order to guarantee press freedom and editorial independence, the JoongAng Ilbo reported that it was decided to comply with relevant laws and agreements related to 'fair reporting' in the collective agreement and not to unreasonably interfere with reporting, commentary, and editing.

JoongAng Ilbo announced that with this contract as an opportunity, they will do their best to graduate from the workout program within the year.

Park Jang-hee, CEO of JoongAng Ilbo, said, "We will faithfully protect the rights of creditors and investors and do our best to normalize management as early as possible. Once the new governance structure is established, we will raise content competitiveness and management efficiency to a higher level."