SK Inc. sells 85% stake of SK Specialty to Hahn & Company for 2.7 trillion won

Board Meeting Held to Approve Stock Trading Agreement
"Discovering Additional Growth Engines Through Continuous Investment"

SK Inc. will sell 85% of its 100% subsidiary SK Specialty's shares to the domestic private equity fund (PEF) Hanwha & Company (Hanwha & Co). The value of the shares to be sold is approximately 2.7 trillion KRW.

SK Seorin Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

On the 23rd, SK Inc. held a board meeting and announced that it approved the signing of a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with these terms. Earlier, in September, SK Inc. selected Hanwha & Co as the preferred negotiation partner after evaluating the proposed price, financing capacity, and post-acquisition strategy from multiple perspectives, and proceeded with contract negotiations including corporate valuation.

Considering SK Specialty's growth potential and synergy with the semiconductor business within the group, SK Inc. decided to retain 15% of the shares. Hanwha & Co plans to establish a special purpose company (SPC) to acquire assets and management rights, including seven overseas subsidiaries of SK Specialty.

The contract also includes a commitment to maintain employment stability for SK Specialty employees and to continue investing for future growth. SK Specialty, which produces specialty gases used in semiconductor and display panel manufacturing processes, holds the number one global market share in the production of nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and tungsten hexafluoride (WF6).

SK Inc. acquired SK Materials (formerly OCI Materials) in 2016 and spun off the specialty gas business (now SK Specialty). Since then, it has supported market expansion, strengthened cost competitiveness, and expanded its product portfolio, growing sales from approximately 338 billion KRW in 2015 to 681.7 billion KRW by the end of last year.

SK Inc. plans to use the funds secured from the sale of SK Specialty shares to improve financial soundness and to invest in future growth engines at the group level, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and energy solutions.

An SK Inc. official said, "We expect SK Specialty to continue playing an important role as a key partner in the domestic semiconductor industry. SK Inc. will further enhance the execution of portfolio rebalancing and operational improvements currently underway."

A Hanwha & Co official stated, "We have acquired SK Specialty, the global number one specialty gas company and a core player in advanced manufacturing industries such as semiconductors, through a partnership based on trust. We will strengthen global competitiveness by discovering additional growth drivers for SK Specialty through continuous investment."