Taekwang Group has muscled into the bidding war for K Shipbuilding, joining forces with TPG, a US private equity firm formerly known as Texas Pacific Group. The consortium has submitted a letter of intent to acquire management control of the Jinhae-based yard, one of three confirmed bidders for the shipyard formerly called STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. Interest from US investors is running hot as South Korea becomes increasingly entwined with Washington’s MASGA (Making American Shipbuilding Great Again) initiative. K Shipbuilding is seen as a strategic asset thanks to its location near the Republic of Korea Navy’s Fleet Support Unit in Jinhae and its previous track record delivering naval tonnage. The yard is positioning itself to win US Navy MRO contracts covering as many as 32 vessels annually over the medium to long term — an ambition that has not gone unnoticed by American funds. K Shipbuilding has been one of the sector’s turnaround stories since being taken over by a local private equity consortium in 2021. South Korea’s revitalised mid-sized shipbuilder was officially put on the market in July, with owners targeting a sale price of up to KRW1trn ($730m). The sale marks a dramatic turnaround for the former STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, which had once been under court receivership following the 2008 global financial crisis. Once the world’s fourth-largest shipyard by order backlog, STX collapsed under financial pressure in the early 2010s, eventually entering receivership in 2016. In 2021, a consortium led by KHI Investment and United Asset Management Company (UAMCO) acquired the struggling company for KRW250bn, betting on a sector rebound. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsSouth Korea United States