Asiana Airlines Inc. on Wednesday named Kumho Petrochemical Co. as the preferred bidder for Kumho Resort Co., keeping the lucrative golf and resort asset within the founding family after the airliner goes under Korean Air Lines.

Kumho Petrochemical elbowed out four other rivals, including VI Investment, Fine Investment, Dongyang Engineering & Construction and Consus Asset Management by offering highest bid at around 250 billion won ($227 million).

The deal includes the full stake in Kumho Resort held by Asiana IDT Inc., a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, and the stake in Kumho Holdings Co., an entity set up by Kumho Resort to operate the Weihai golf resort in China.

Kumho Resort owns membership-based 36-hole golf club Asiana CC located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and four condominiums including Tongyeong Marina Resort in South Gyeongsang Province and Weihaipoint Hotel & Resort in Weihai, Shandong Province of China.

The transaction value is estimated at 200 billion won to 300 billion won. A golf resort typically costs 7 billion won per hole. But because Asiana CC is located near Seoul, it could fetch a higher price, according to experts. Some say the price tag could be lower as the outdated facilities require remodeling.

By Kang Doo-soon and Lee Yoon-jae

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