Contentree JoongAng, an affiliate of JoongAng Group, and its subsidiary Megabox filed for the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings with the court.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 15th, Contentree JoongAng, following a board decision on the 14th, submitted applications to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court for the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings, a preservative measure, and a comprehensive injunction. Contentree JoongAng said the reason for the filing was "normalization of management and preservation of value as a going concern going forward."
Contentree JoongAng is a JoongAng Group affiliate that operates broadcasting and content businesses. Following the application to commence rehabilitation proceedings, trading of Contentree JoongAng shares was suspended that day.
Megabox JoongAng also disclosed that day it applied to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court for the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings on the same day. Megabox JoongAng is a major subsidiary of Contentree JoongAng and operates a movie theater business. Megabox JoongAng's total assets are 890.6 billion won, or 35.76% of Contentree JoongAng, the parent company's consolidated total assets of 2.4909 trillion won.
Earlier, on the 12th, NICE Investors Service lowered JTBC's unsecured bond credit rating to "CCC" from "BBB, negative," and its commercial paper and electronic short-term bond ratings to "C" from "A3."
The move followed JTBC's failure to repay principal and interest on a total of 20.6 billion won in securitized borrowing fund, including 5.6 billion won for Mir J-1 and 15 billion won for Jeil TBC J-2. According to NICE Investors Service, a long-term credit rating of CCC is assigned when a default is considered possible and the issue is deemed highly speculative.