이 기사는 2020년 05월 28일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Doosan Group is accelerating its sale of Club Mow Country Club (CC) in a bid to keep its three trillion won ($2.4 billion) self-rescue plan on track.

Doosan Group has hired Deloitte Anjin to run the sale process for the group and speeding up the process, investment banking industry sources said on Tuesday. The seller has already received letters of intent from multiple potential buyers, including domestic conglomerates and private equity firms. This is attributable to heightened market interest in the target as people who aren’t able to travel abroad due to the Covid-19 outbreak are flocking to domestic golf resorts.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction acquired 27-hole public golf course Club Mow CC seven years ago against its will. Doosan Heavy was hired as a constructor of the golf course by South Korea’s property developer Jang Rak Development. However, even after the completion of the golf course, demand for the golf course membership was very weak and Jang Rak Development went bankrupt. The entire debts related to the golf course were handed over to Doosan Heavy. This construction cost Doosan Heavy more than 220 billion won, including deposits of 130 billion won for project financing and construction cost of 90 billion won.

Doosan Heavy transferred the debts to a special purpose vehicle and issued asset-backed short-term bonds. The company has refinanced short-term bonds 16 times. Last month, Doosan Heavy repaid the debts with one trillion won worth emergency funds provided by the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea as it has become difficult to extend the maturity date.

Doosan Heavy plans to secure liquidity by unloading its real estate assets including Doosan Tower and Club Mow CC. The sale process is picking up steam, with the booming golf course industry.

Striker Capital Management acquired Paganica CC (18 holes) from Daewoo Engineering & Construction for 95 billion won last year. The price of the golf course in Gangwon Province - which was between 3 billion and 3.5 billion won per hole two years ago - jumped to 5 billion won per hole. In April, Capstone Asset Management set the record-high price tag by acquiring Players Golf Club (27 holes) for 170 billion won, which could translate into a 6.3 billion won per hole. The valuation of Club Mow CC is likely to be similar to that of the two golf courses above, considering the geographical proximity.

The price tag of Club Mow CC was initially expected to be in a range of 140 billion and 160 billion won, but fierce competition among potential buyers may push up the price to 180 billion won. Considering Doosan intends to complete the sale process quickly, potential buyers with deep pockets are likely to win the race. An IB industry source said that as the sale process is proceeding at a rapid pace, the ability to complete the deal will be one of the key criteria when selecting a preferred bidder.

(Reporting by Se-hun Jo)