Hyundai Motor HM is likely to be squeezed out of the Korean government's auction of Daewoo Motor DM, given the restricted access it now has to affiliates' finances and the unwillingness of other potential bidders to take on the anti-trust baggage it would bring to a partnership.
The fact HM is still in the race and making noises appears to be little more than a face-saving exercise after controversial changes at the top of the Hyundai Group HG, Korea's largest chaebol. HG founder Chung Ju-yung last week named Chung Mon-hun MH, one of his younger sons, to take over as chairman of HG, while MH's elder brother...