SEOUL-- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Wednesday that it has agreed with a state-run lender to extend a deal to buy Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) by three months.

KSOE signed the deal with the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), main creditor of DSME, in March 2019 to buy a 55.72 percent stake in the shipbuilder that had been mired in a severe cash shortage since 1999.

KSOE and KDB delayed the deal for the fourth time since March 2019.

KSOE has to get approval for the deal from six countries -- China, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Japan, the EU and South Korea -- to finalize it, but only three countries -- China, Kazakhstan and Singapore – have given the green light.

The approval by the EU has been considered crucial for the combination between KSOE and DSME.

The deal could create the world's biggest shipbuilder with a 21 percent market share.

Source: Yonhap News Agency