UPDATE 2-CCMP, Affinity sell S.Korea's Mando for $690 mln
(Updates numbers based on public disclosure, changes quote)
SEOUL, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Private equity firms CCMP Capital and Affinity Equity have agreed to sell a majority of a South Korean car parts maker to a business group led by Halla Engineering & Construction (014790.KS) for $690 million.
Halla Engineering said in a public disclosure on Monday the construction company is buying a 72.4 percent stake in the brake and steering systems maker from Netherlands-based Sun Sage BV, set up by CCMP and Affinity.
"We will sign a contract to buy the stake, prior to forming a consortium to split the shares between participating companies," Halla told the Korea Exchange.
The value of the deal is 651.5 billion won ($688.4 million), according to the disclosure.
Mando Corp was put up for sale in 2005 by the two top shareholders which had paid $446 million for the shares in 2000.
The sale values Mando as a whole at 900 billion won ($954.9 million), or 120,881 won per share, based on Reuters calculations. That is 1.8 times Mando's book value, matching the per-share book value of bigger rival Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd (012330.KS).
CCMP Capital Asia declined to comment and officials at Affinity could not be reached for comment.
U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts [KKR.UL] had reportedly been in talks to buy Mando, since previous negotiations with Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) had faltered due to a pricing gap.
Halla Group had sold a majority of Mando to Sun Sage after it went bankrupt following the Asia financial crisis a decade ago.
"The deal is meaningful for us in that our original owner is buying the company back," said a spokesman for Mando, which derives 60 percent of sales from Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top auto maker.
Its heavy reliance on Hyundai had been a major hurdle for other investors chasing Mando, industry sources have said.
Shares in Halla pared earlier gains to trade flat by 0510 GMT, as the wider market shed 3 percent. ($1=942.5 Won) (Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee and Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Keiron Henderson & Ian Geoghegan)
