Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. is moving to sell its main office building in Seoul as part of restructuring efforts to stay afloat, company officials said Wednesday.
  

The officials said three companies have already submitted closed bids to take over the building located in downtown Seoul, estimated to be worth between 170 billion won and 180 billion won ($150 million-$159 million).
  

"The company will name a multiple number of preferred bidders this weekend at the earliest and by early next week at the latest," an official said, asking not to be identified.
  

The bidders are asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments, Kiwoom Asset Management Co., and Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co.
  

The proposed sale comes as part of a larger restructuring plan that will also see transactions on most of the shipbuilder's smaller affiliates.
  

Daewoo Shipbuilding, the world's largest shipyard by order backlog, posted a record net loss of 2.39 trillion won in the second quarter, followed by an additional loss of 1.36 trillion won in the July-September period.
  

Creditors of the troubled shipbuilder, including the state-run Korea Development Bank, have agreed to provide 4.2 trillion won in fresh loans and a capital increase to help put the company back on track but only in exchange for painstaking self-rescue efforts.
  

The company's unionized workers also had to submit a written consent, agreeing to a wage freeze for the entire duration of restructuring and also pledging not to resort to any collective movements, including strikes, during the process.
  

Company officials have said the sale of its headquarters and other assets will help it raise up to 1.85 trillion won on its own.
  

The company, meanwhile, said it has decided to accumulate an additional 3.2 trillion won through short-term loans.
  

In a regulatory filing posted earlier Wednesday, the company said the amount did not represent an immediate increase in its borrowing, but that the amount will be available to the company under a stand-by arrangement. (Yonhap)