Headlines

Ailing South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor said Tuesday it had extended the deadline for final bids for a controlling stake in the firm following requests from bidders for more time, Agence France-Presse reported. The deadline was extended from July 20 to August 10. Ssangyong said six bidders, including an alliance of France's Renault and Japan's Nissan Motor, had joined the race. The preliminary bidders also include Young An Hat, a local headgear company which owns bus maker Daewoo Bus, and India's top utility vehicle company Mahindra and Mahindra, Yonhap news agency said.

Indebted European countries from Greece and Italy to Spain have in recent weeks set off down a common path toward fiscal recovery, promising to slash spending and raise taxes. One sobering scenario of what they may be up against comes from Europe's southwestern edge: Portugal, which embarked a decade ago on a similar journey of austerity, higher taxes and intermittent spending cuts, is still cutting—and still struggling, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nortel Networks Inc., once part of North America’s biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, filed its plan to repay creditors without disclosing how much they will get, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The plan, filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, doesn’t provide details about how the company will divide the proceeds from selling its assets. Nortel, based in Toronto, filed for bankruptcy last year along with its parent, Nortel Networks Corp. The company has since raised about $2.8 billion from selling assets.

The representatives of potential Karstadt investor Nicholas Berggruen and Germany's Valovis Bank said Tuesday they have agreed on the conditions for a rental agreement over 53 Karstadt properties, further paving the path for Berggruens takeover of Karstadt following weeks of negotiations, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Now there is agreement on all essential points of the rental contract, Berggruen Holdings and Valovis said.

Top European finance officials said Tuesday that results of banking stress tests would be released on July 23 but that some national regulators could take longer to release more detailed information on certain lenders, The New York Times reported. “We want this to be as broadly based as possible, involving the institutions with sovereign debt exposure,” said Didier Reynders, the Belgian finance minister.

Three subsidiaries of struggling Greek telecommunications company Wind Hellas have shifted their addresses and principal place of business to London from Luxembourg, in a move that could aid a potential debt restructuring, the company said Tuesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. News of the relocation comes as Wind Hellas conducts a strategic review, which includes the potential sale of the business and a capital restructuring, after the company's performance continues to suffer in the wake of the Greek government's austerity measures.

Receivers for National Finance 2000 could be ordered to provide its directors with information to help with their defence against charges laid by the Companies Office, a court heard yesterday, The New Zealand Herald reported. In 2008, the Companies Office laid criminal charges against the directors that relate to alleged untrue statements in the company's registered prospectus and failure to comply with financial reporting standards.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick has been adjudicated a bankrupt by the High Court at his own request, just days after opposition from the bank ensured the collapse of his proposed settlement deal with creditors, The Irish Times reported. The official assignee in bankruptcy, Chris Lehane, will now deal with Mr FitzPatrick’s creditors, who are owed some €150 million. His assets are estimated to be worth some €50 million, including investments of some €45.7 million, and some €1.23 million in accounts in various financial institutions.

A bid by state-owned Landcorp for 16 dairy farms owned by former Crafar family companies has fallen short leaving a Chinese-backed company in the box seat to purchase the assets, The National Business Review reported. Receivers Michael Stiassny and Brendon Gibson of KordaMentha confirmed today that over 50 offers were submitted on all or parts of the portfolio from a range of buyers. They were pleased with the strength of the offers, however Landcorp was not among the preferred tenders, they said in a brief statement.

Investors are finding a new appetite in the savings bank industry, as troubled thrifts are putting themselves on sale under a government-led restructuring drive, The Korea Times reported. Many savings banks have suffered liquidity problems as a large part of their loans are tied to investments in the depressed property market. Boutique investment bankers in Yeoido, the financial center of Seoul, are busy throwing sales pitches to potential investors these days, sources said Friday. The potential buyers range from private equities to insurance and construction firms.