Hanjin Shipping Co. received five initial bids for its Asia-U.S. business as a South Korean court kicked off the process to sell the nation’s largest container line that fell victim to excess capacity and slowing global trade, Bloomberg News reported today. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Korea Shipping Association, Korea Line Corp. and private-equity firm Hahn & Co. were among those that expressed interest, while the Seoul Central District Court, overseeing the receivership, declined to disclose the fifth bidder. The submissions will be followed by a due diligence of the assets, which includes offices and vessels that operate on the trans-Pacific trade. Final bids are due by Nov. 7. The process heralds the beginning of the end of Hanjin, which filed for bankruptcy protection in late August after creditors balked, setting off disruptions in supply chains around the world. Hanjin Shipping, once the world’s seventh-largest container line, said this week that it is winding down its Europe route. A decision on the winning bid is due later next month. The South Korean company, whose market value is about 196 billion won (US$171 million), is also in talks to sell its 54 percent stake in the Long Beach port container terminal, according to the Seoul court.
