Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors of cash-strapped Kumho Tire Co. agreed on a rollover of 1.9 trillion won ($1.8 billion) debt due this week by one month to buy time to come up with a specific plan to turn the tire maker around after they failed to sell it to a Chinese competitor.

According to KDB on Monday, creditors decided to push back the maturity on their dues on Dec. 28 to Jan. 28 as they have yet to formulate bailout program for the No. 2 industry player.

Creditors are mulling restructuring options such as voluntary self-rescue, creditors-led workout program, or a P-plan - a mixture of court and creditors relief program for Kumho Tire.

KDB and creditors initially planned to hold a creditors meeting last week to share results of due diligence on the tire maker and discuss normalization measures but the meeting has been delayed due to other year-end schedules.

There have been rumors that the country’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group is interested in Kumho Tire. Both SK Group and KDB have denied the rumor.

Kumho Group gave up its rights over the tire company whose losses have widened amid foggy outlook after planned sales to Chinese rival Doublestar Tyre officially collapsed in September.

By Kim Tae-sung and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]