Harim Group and the JKL consortium agreed the deal earlier today after getting the green light from a Seoul bankruptcy court.
The agreement will lead to Pan Ocean being recapitalised through a debt for equity swap, with funds also available to pay rehabilitation claims and remunerate the professional adviser who has overseen bankruptcy proceedings.
Pan Ocean, formerly known as STX Pan Ocean, controls a fleet of about 90 vessels of about 9.5m dwt. Most are handysized to capesize bulk carriers but there are also very large ore carriers, chemical carriers and an LNG carrier.
Pan Ocean filed for court receivership in June 2013 and was subsequently put up for sale by public tender.
Harim is a leading South Korean food and agribusiness concern but little appears to be known about the partners in the JKL consortium, Jeil Holdings Corporation and Poseidon 2014 Ltd.
In a disclosure to the Singapore stock exchange, where Pan Ocean is listed, the Harim led consortium said Pan Ocean would have a more than KRW 1 trillion ($900m) undertaking fund and there would be a capital increase of KRW 850bn through the issue of 340m shares.
A KRW 158bn corporate bond is to be issued offering a return of 5% per annum over five years.
