NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - Distressed asset fund W.L. Ross & Co. expects to take control of Kia Steel Co. in the third quarter after effectively winning an auction this week for the bankrupt Korean steel company, the firm's leader told Reuters.
W.L. Ross and partner Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were named the preferred negotiators on Monday to buy the plant and working capital of Korea's largest specialty automotive steel maker with a bid of $360 million, Ross said in an interview.
Ross, who has been active in buying assets in Japan and Korea in recent years, said he expects to sign a memorandum of understanding to buy Kia Steel's assets by next week.
"We were designated the winner," said Ross, whose fund controls International Steel Group, a company that recently bought assets of both LTV Corp. and Bethlehem Steel, two major steelmakers who fell into bankruptcy due to foreign competition and high debt loads.
The deal - which is still subject to bankruptcy court and regulatory approval - will give W.L. Ross and Goldman the vast majority of the equity in Kia Steel, with the remainder being publicly traded, said Ross.
Ross said he plans to make Kia Steel "more efficient," and help it access new markets in the United States and elsewhere that are now held by International Steel Group.