HAAH Automotive proposes $258 mn investment in Ssangyong Motor

HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc., a US automobile distributor, has offered to invest 300 billion won ($258 million) in Ssangyong Motor Co. as part of its bid to acquire a significant stake in the South Korean automaker, according to sources in the investment banking industry.

The sources said on Sept. 20 that HAAH Automotive last week submitted a proposal to India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. that it is willing to invest the amount in cash-strapped Ssangyong if it means its stake is large enough to control the Korean maker of sport utility vehicles. Mahindra, the largest shareholder of Ssangyong with a 75% stake, is considering the offer, they said.

In the proposal, HAAH Automotive also presented some conditions for its investment, such as a deferral of Ssangyong’s debt repayment to its creditors until the automaker is fully normalized, according to the sources.



In early August, Mahindra expressed its intention to give up management rights over the carmaker, stressing that it had no plan to inject new capital into the loss-making company.

Mahindra’s managing director Pawan Goenka said during a conference call on second-quarter results that it was working on a plan to cut its ownership in Ssangyong to less than 50% on condition that the Korean SUV maker finds a new investor. Ssangyong has selected Rothschild and Samsung Securities as its sale managers.

Falling exports in the absence of new models have dealt a heavy blow to the already troubled Korean automaker. Its operating loss more than doubled to 117.1 billion won in the April-June quarter, compared to a shortfall of 49 billion won a year earlier.

Industry watchers said HAAH Automotive may not have enough money to become a major shareholder of SsangYong with only 20 billion won in annual sales, as SsangYong needs 500 billion won to normalize its operations.

“HAAH Automotive’s proposal is not a binding offer. Also, it is known that there’s a difference between Mahindra and HAAH over the size of the stake up for sale,” said a source close to the matter.

Based in Irvine, HAAH Automotive is an auto startup established in 2014 by Duke Hale, a former vice president of Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar and Land Rover. HAAH is reportedly planning to distribute Chinese vehicles in the North American market.

Write to Jun Ho Cha at chacha@hankyung.com
Edited by In-Soo Nam