Possibility of participation in the JoongAng Ilbo acquisition battle with CJ Group and Daou Kiwoom Group

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Se-rin = Observations have been raised that CJ Group is considering joining hands with Daou Kiwoom Group to participate in the takeover of JoongAng Ilbo.

According to industry sources on the 16th, CJ Group is said to be discussing forming a consortium with Daukium Group to participate in the main bidding for the sale of JoongAng Ilbo.

The main bidding for the sale of JoongAng Ilbo is scheduled to close on the afternoon of the 19th.

CJ Group holds a 9.24% stake in JoongAng Ilbo through its affiliate CJ OliveNetworks.

JoongAng Ilbo began corporate structure improvement work (workout) in July amid a liquidity crisis at some of the JoongAng Group's affiliates, and is pursuing the sale of management rights to normalize management.

JoongAng Ilbo announced in a press release on the 29th of last month that it plans to select a preferred bidder for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by the end of this month.

It is known that six companies, including Global SeAH, Kumbo Development, Dow Technology, Orion, OK Financial Group, and Eve Broadcasting, participated in the preliminary bidding held last month.