[THE INVESTOR] The state-run Korea Development Bank said on Oct. 13 it will receive preliminary bids to sell its controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction.

The 50.75-percent stake in in the firm is valued at some 1.5 trillion won (US$1.32 billion) and is held by a private equity fund controlled by KDB.

KDB plans to pick a preferred bidder early next year.

The lender, a key creditor of Kumho Asiana Group, purchased the stake in 2010 to help the debt-ridden parent group restructure its finances.

Kumho Asiana’s two subsidiaries, Kumho Tire and Kumho Industrial, have been under a debt restructuring program since early 2010 due to a severe cash crunch sparked by the group’s purchase of Daewoo Engineering in 2006.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)