Liquidity-starved STX Group has asked its main creditor to buy its $231 million, 35.93% shipping unit stake after receiving no bids for it late last month.

“Korea Development Bank’s private equity team has hired advisors to review the possible acquisition of STX Pan Ocean following STX Group’s request,” STX Pan Ocean –Korea’s largest bulk carrier–said in a late-Monday filing to the Korea Exchange.

KDB told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that it has hired law and accounting firms to review the proposal starting 8 April, and that it expects due diligence to continue for a month.

Analysts widely see the sale to KDB as inevitable. The state-owned policy bank and other creditors lent $10 billion to the shipping, shipbuilding-to-construction and energy conglomerate. But profitability has worsened, and the risk of creditors writing down debt is rising.

STX Group’s business declined during the 2008 global financial crisis, and it has since been suffering from reduced demand for marine transportation.

Last year, without elaborating on time frame, it said it would raise 2.5 trillion won ($1.93 billion) by selling assets. It has so far raised KRW1.13 trillion.

Separately STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. last week asked creditors for financial support to repay maturing debt.

Source: Wall Street Journal