Pantech escapes bankruptcy after 14 months
A court-approved revival plan turned in by Pantech, South Korea's third largest smartphone maker, has ended the debt-ridden firm's 14-month court receivership.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court approved the company's revival plan, which was turned in and reviewed by its creditors.
After multiple failed attempts to sell the firm, compatriot Optis stepped to the plate this year and offered to buy the firm, which was approved by the court after review.
Optis, a firm that focuses on optical disk drive (ODD), formed a consortium with Solid, a local IT service company, and paid the acquisition price earlier this month.
Optis and Solid will manage Pantech through a firm called SMA Solution Holdings, with 4 percent and 96 percent stake, respectively. It will buy 4,099 brand and intellectual property patents, as well as 500 employees of Pantech.
Pantech filed for court receivership -- equivalent to the US's Chapter 11 -- in August 2014 after struggling stay afloat in the market against rivals Samsung and LG. A month previously, the company was due to pay back an outstanding debt of 480 billion won ($475 million). It later posted total operating losses for that year of 292 billion won.
Source: ZDNet.co.kr