SEOUL -- SsangYong is looking for a potential buyer after India's Mahindra and Mahindra said it plans to give up its majority stake in the money-losing company.
SsangYong has picked an advisor to tap markets for a new investor, a spokesman for the South Korean SUV maker said on Friday.
South Korean media said SsangYong had picked Samsung Securities to tap the market for interest, working with its global strategic partner Rothschild.
Samsung Securities and Rothschild declined to comment, and SsangYong would not confirm the name of its advisor.
SsangYong is burdened with high debt and reported its 13th consecutive quarterly operating loss in January-March. It suffered from sluggish sales even before the spread of COVID-19 due to tough competition in the SUV market.
An executive at Mahindra said last week that the Indian company was willing to let go of its ownership stake in SsangYong.The stake at is valued at 332 billion won ($274.59 million) as of Friday's stock market closing.
A representative for China's Geely said the automaker has no plan to participate in any bidding for SsangYong.
Electric vehicle maker BYD declined to comment.