JTBC has entered a court-supervised sale process.
The broadcaster announced Friday that the Seoul Bankruptcy Court had approved the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings for JTBC, triggering a sale process aimed at restoring normal operations.
Earlier, JTBC failed in June to repay approximately 20.6 billion won ($14.9 million) in asset-backed borrowings at maturity and filed for rehabilitation proceedings the same month.
In response, the court approved the start of rehabilitation proceedings in late June for four affiliates that had filed jointly — Joongang Holdings, ContentreeJoongAng, Joongang P&I and Megabox Joongang — while approving JTBC's application for a voluntary restructuring support program and deferring a decision on JTBC's own proceedings until July 30.
JTBC said that after multiple rounds of consultations, it concluded that formal rehabilitation proceedings would better protect creditors' interests. "Accordingly, we did not apply for a further extension of the voluntary restructuring program, and the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings was decided," the company said.
JTBC said its goal is to complete a swift sale and restore normal operations.
"Going forward, JTBC will participate in the court-led rehabilitation process as faithfully as possible," the company said. "Management and all employees will do their utmost to normalize operations through a prompt sale."
balme@heraldcorp.com
