SK's battery material unit eyes W2.25tr mega IPO in May
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SK ie technology, a wholly owned battery materials subsidiary under SK Innovation, said Thursday that it was looking to raise nearly 2.25 trillion won ($2.02 billion) in fresh funds via an initial public offering on South Korea’s main bourse next month.
While it plans to float about 21.4 million shares on the Kospi market in a price band of 78,000-105,000 won, some 8.55 million new shares are set to be issued. SK Innovation will sell 12.83 million SKIET shares for the IPO.
The exact share price will be fixed in a two-day book building that is slated to wrap up Friday. Retail investors’ subscriptions will be accepted April 28 and 29, with Mirae Asset Securities and JP Morgan as the main underwriters.
The IPO proceeds will be used on research and development, and in facility investment, to establish a solid foothold in the industry. Amid the expectation of surging demand in the separators market, the maker of battery materials will mainly use the funds to invest in facilities of an existing complex in Poland, SKIET CEO Rho Jae-sok told reporters in a briefing.
“On the brink of an explosively growing market, we’ll cement our position as a leading company by continuously expanding market share globally. After successfully completing the IPO process and further strengthening our competitiveness, we look forward to contributing to the EV industry,” the CEO said.
The lithium-ion battery separator maker was established as a spinoff of SK Innovation in April 2019. Two years later, the company has secured a leading position in the premium separators market, the officials said.
Separators are essential materials for batteries used in electric vehicles and IT devices. Through its fast market share expansion, the officials said, SKIET posted 469.3 billion won in sales, 125.2 billion won in operating profit and 88.2 billion won in net profit last year.
As one of eight SK Group subsidiaries to join a global renewable energy campaign, SKIET has focused its efforts on finding new growth engines and on practicing environmental, social and corporate governance values. It intends to meet all of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2050.
“With the aim of meeting all our electricity needs with eco-friendly energy sources both inside and outside Korea, we’ve already put that plan into action in Korea for this year. We were able to cut about 70 percent of carbon emissions released in the process of making separators,” Rho said.
By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)
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