SK telecom to buy 24.8 percent SK broadband stake

SK telecom CI

South Korean mobile carrier SK telecom Co. announced on Wednesday that it signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire the entire 24.8 percent stake in SK broadband Inc. held by Taekwang Group and Mirae Asset Group.

SK telecom decided not to proceed with the initial public offering (IPO) that had been a condition when it initially attracted investment in SK broadband from Mirae Asset Group.

“This agreement was made with the mutual understanding that maximizing synergy between SK telecom and SK broadband is crucial,” an SK telecom official said. “We took shareholder value, which could be impacted by dual listing with SK telecom, into account.”

Taekwang Group and Mirae Asset Group currently hold 16.75 percent and 8.01 percent stakes in SK broadband respectively.

Taekwang Group and Mirae Asset Group became major shareholders of SK broadband in 2020 when SK broadband acquired cable broadcaster T-Broad. At that time, Mirae Asset Group, a financial investor, had planned to recover its investment through an IPO of SK broadband within five years but this plan has been scrapped.

SK telecom has agreed to value SK broadband’s shares at 11,511 won ($8.18) per share, amounting to a total of 1.15 trillion won, with the acquisition to be completed by May 2025., SK telecom has secured a 99.1 percent stake in SK broadband via this agreement, paving the way to make it a fully-owned subsidiary.

With this acquisition, SK telecom and SK broadband plan to maximize synergies in wired and wireless communications and expand investments in data centers and submarine cable businesses.