[THE INVESTOR] Dayou Winia, the Korean firm best known for kimchi refrigerators, will acquire Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, the nation’s No. 3 electronics maker after Samsung and LG, for about 90 billion won (US$82.4 million), according to news reports on Feb. 9. 

Dongbu's "Mini" appliances for single people.

Dayou Winia will acquire the entire stake owned by DB Group, formerly Dongbu Group, and other financial investors, including KTB Private Equity. After the acquisition, the firm reportedly plans to issue new shares worth 100 billion won.

A slew of global appliance makers such as Sweden’s Electrolux, China’s Haier, Mexico’s Mabe and France’s Brandt joined the bidding race last year. In January, Iran’s Entekhab was picked as the preferred bidder but the two firms failed to reach an agreement on price differences during due diligence.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)