17.10.2002

GM, Partners complete asset transfer with Daewoo Motor Company

General Motors Corporation, Daewoo Motor Company, and the Korea Development Bank, acting on behalf of the Daewoo Motor Creditors Committee, announced the transfer of certain assets of Daewoo Motor Company to a new automotive company called GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. (GM Daewoo).

The asset transfer marks the beginning of the new company following definitive agreements signed among the parties April 30, and the approval of the Reorganization Plan of Daewoo Motor Company by the Incheon Court Sept. 30, 2002. GM, Suzuki Motor Corp., Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), and the creditors will be the stockholders in GM Daewoo.

The new company will own and operate three manufacturing plants and a total of nine overseas subsidiaries, including the Daewoo units in Austria, the Benelux countries, France, Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, plus Daewoo's European parts operations in the Netherlands. The manufacturing plants are located in Changwon and Kunsan, South Korea, and the automobile operations in Hanoi, Vietnam. Included in the new company are the design, engineering, research & development, sales, marketing, and administration assets located in Bupyung, South Korea.

Daewoo Motors' manufacturing facility in Bupyung, South Korea, will be formed into a new Company, Daewoo Inchon Motor Company, and will continue to supply GM Daewoo with vehicles, engines, transmissions and components for at least six years. The agreements give GM Daewoo an option to acquire this company any time within the next six years. GM Daewoo products will eventually be sold in more than 80 countries around the world. Other facilities, subsidiaries, ventures, debts and liabilities not included as part of the definitive agreements governing the transaction will be retained by the creditors of Daewoo Motor Company.

Nick Reilly will serve as president and chief executive officer of the new company. "This is the day everyone has been waiting for so long," Reilly said. "GM Daewoo has an impressive workforce, an exciting product line up, a proven quality supplier base and a good business plan. Now we can get on with the business of making this company a growing, competitive enterprise."

According to Reilly, a board of directors meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28, at which time the new company will be inaugurated, the executive team introduced and a new corporate identity revealed. Upon completion of the final equity capital injection, it is intended that General Motors will own 42.1 percent of the new company and Daewoo's creditors will hold a 33 percent stake. Suzuki and SAIC will have a 14.9 percent and 10 percent equity interest respectively in GM Daewoo.

GM Daewoo Europe
To coordinate the activities of its overseas sales subsidiaries in Europe, GM Daewoo has set up its own European Operations Center in Zurich, Switzerland. Executive in Charge of GM Daewoo Europe is Erhard L. (Hardy) Spranger. GM Daewoo's European operations intend to cooperate with GM Europe to maximize opportunities for the new company.

In addition to the overseas sales subsidiaries acquired as part of the global transaction, GM Daewoo will establish two new companies, one in Luton, England, and the other in Budapest, Hungary, to represent GM Daewoo in the United Kingdom as well as in Central and Southeast Europe.

Coinciding almost exactly with the establishment of the new company, the millionth Daewoo sold in Western Europe, a Matiz, will be handed over to a customer in Austria later this week. "That is a great achievement," said Spranger. "I am convinced that we can drive GM Daewoo in Europe to great success. With the all-new Kalos already on the market and other new models and engines coming soon we will be able to offer our customers exciting products and exceptional value."