Zico Holdings Accelerates Merger and Acquisition of Kodako

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Zico Holdings has embarked on a full-scale move to acquire 'Kodaco,' a KOSDAQ-listed company. It plans to notify the creditor council responsible for Kodaco's management of its creditor status and simultaneously proceed with legal actions against Kodaco's management.

On the 19th, Zico Holdings announced that it sent a certified letter to the Kodaco creditor group, including the Korea Development Bank, detailing illegal acts that occurred during the Zico acquisition process, violations of the management agreement, and the Kodaco M&A plan.

Zico Holdings claims that it was deceived by Kodaco, the seller of Zico, and its management when deciding to acquire Zico. Although Kodaco promised through M&A IR materials to maintain and enhance corporate value, it failed to uphold this, leading Zico's situation to deteriorate to the worst possible state.

In fact, immediately after acquiring Zico, Zico Holdings received a 'disclaimer of opinion' audit report from the external audit firm Shinwoo Accounting Corporation. This severely damaged Zico's corporate value and dealt a direct blow to financial soundness, including liquidity pressure. According to Zico Holdings, the resulting damage amounts to 19 billion KRW.

Furthermore, Zico Holdings notified the creditor group that illegal activities occurred during the Zico M&A process. It explained that part of the sale proceeds flowed not to Kodaco, the seller, but to the actual controlling party. Since this essentially constitutes embezzlement by Kodaco, Zico Holdings is requesting the creditor group to directly verify this matter.

Although Zico Holdings was aware of these illegal facts, it tolerated them to complete the transaction, making it difficult to avoid future legal sanctions. Zico Holdings conveyed the illegal facts to the creditor group to objectively prove that the Zico M&A was conducted under deception by Kodaco and its management, resulting in damages worth hundreds of billions of KRW.

However, Kodaco maintains that the fund transactions in question were personal dealings between the owners of Zico Holdings and Kodaco and have no relation to the company. They argue that it was merely a personal loan agreement and, therefore, embezzlement cannot be established.

Zico Holdings views joint management of Zico and Kodaco as the best self-help measure to protect all stakeholders. Currently, Zico Holdings is pursuing external financing to acquire Kodaco.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.