Sale announcement expected this month

JTBC headquarters [Yonhap]
JTBC headquarters [Yonhap]

JTBC, the general programming cable channel currently undergoing court receivership, has appointed EY Hanyoung as its sale manager and is moving ahead with a full-scale sale process.

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court's Second Rehabilitation Division approved JTBC's application to designate EY Hanyoung as sale manager on Wednesday, according to legal sources. JTBC had applied for court approval on Sept. 23 after selecting EY Hanyoung — which had been serving as the court-appointed investigator — for the role.

JTBC plans to launch a sale announcement this month, followed by the receipt of letters of intent, due diligence and bidding. The company aims to select a preferred bidder, complete the necessary court procedures for a final contract, and close the deal before its rehabilitation plan receives court approval. EY Hanyoung has already begun reaching out to multiple potential buyers.

JTBC filed for rehabilitation proceedings in June and subsequently entered the Autonomous Restructuring Support program, through which it negotiated restructuring measures with its creditors. The ARS program allows a company to defer the formal start of rehabilitation proceedings for up to three months while working out debt adjustments and financing arrangements with creditors.

Those talks ultimately failed to produce a restructuring agreement, and the court formally opened rehabilitation proceedings in August. With the deadline for submitting a rehabilitation plan set for Jan. 29, 2027, the company must move quickly on the sale to complete an M&A deal before the plan receives court approval.

"As the court-appointed investigator, EY Hanyoung already has a thorough understanding of JTBC's current situation and key operations, so we expect the M&A process to proceed swiftly," JTBC said in a statement. "We plan to issue a sale announcement this month, with the goal of completing the sale before the rehabilitation plan is approved."

EY Hanyoung described JTBC as "a major asset with strong brand value — including its drama series and entertainment content production capabilities, intellectual property assets, and the No. 1 news ratings among general programming channels." The firm added that multiple prospective buyers had already expressed interest ahead of the formal process and that market attention was expected to grow once proceedings got underway.

Joongang Group's restructuring began in June following JTBC's debt default. Joongang Holdings, ContentreeJoongAng, Megabox Joongang, Joongang P&I and JTBC all filed for court receivership simultaneously. JoongAng Ilbo then applied for a creditor-led workout in July, which is still ongoing. That process has completed a preliminary bidding round and is now conducting due diligence to select a preferred bidder.


park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com