SK Chemical Plans to Sell Pharmaceutical Business to Private Equity Fund... "Negotiating Terms"

"Signing MOU with Glenwood PE"

SK Chemicals is considering selling its pharmaceutical division to a domestic private equity fund.

SK Chemicals Headquarters, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. [Photo by SK Chemicals]

Regarding reports that SK Chemicals is pursuing the sale of its pharmaceutical division, the company announced on the 21st that it is "reviewing the sale of the pharmaceutical division."

The company explained, "A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the parties to establish basic terms before the final contract is concluded," adding, "Currently, the parties are negotiating specific conditions."

Earlier, a media outlet reported that SK Chemicals is pushing forward with a plan to sell its pharmaceutical division to Glenwood Private Equity (PE), a domestic private equity firm. The transaction price is said to be around 600 billion KRW.

SK Chemicals' business segments are divided into the Green Chemicals division, which oversees eco-friendly businesses, and the Life Sciences division. Under the Life Sciences division are the pharmaceutical division and SK Bioscience, a vaccine-specialized subsidiary.

As of last year, the pharmaceutical division recorded sales of approximately 313.9 billion KRW, accounting for 17.2% of total sales. The division's main products include the patch-type anti-inflammatory analgesic "Trust," the blood circulation enhancer "Gineksin," and the patch-type dementia treatment "Rivastigmine Patch."

Glenwood PE appears to expect synergy effects with the diagnostics business segment, which it is in the process of acquiring from LG Chem through this acquisition. In June, Glenwood PE signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire the diagnostics business under LG Chem's Life Sciences headquarters. The acquisition price is approximately 150 billion KRW.