Hyundai Group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the country’s biggest builder, over the conglomerate’s lost case to acquire a controlling stake in the builder last year.

“We’re claiming a total of 325.5 billion won against the creditor group for damages caused after they deprived the Hyundai Group of the right to negotiate primarily with Hyundai E&C last year,” Min Byung-hoon, the group’s lawyer, told reporters at a press conference.

Hyundai Group last year won a preliminary bid to acquire Hyundai E&C but creditors of the construction firm scrapped the deal in December, citing uncertainty over the conglomerate’s financing plans for the $4.8 billion deal.

The group last year filed a complaint against Hyundai Motor Group, an alternative bidder determined to regain control over the builder, but later withdrew its lawsuit.

(cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)