Hanwha Investment & Securities Completes Advisory for Acquisition of Overseas Nickel Smelter Stake

Hanwha Investment & Securities announced on January 7 that it has completed advisory services for the acquisition of a stake in an overseas nickel smelter.

This transaction involves Sphere Corporation, a supplier of special alloys to the aerospace industry including SpaceX in the United States, acquiring a 10% stake in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) nickel smelting project in Indonesia for a total of 240 million dollars. Hanwha Investment & Securities structured the deal so that 210 million dollars of the total would be raised in connection with global investors.

The ENC nickel smelting project is a large-scale nickel smelter operation located in Indonesia. This stake acquisition is being recognized as a significant case in which a Korean company has simultaneously secured both a strategic equity investment and a long-term off-take agreement related to global critical minerals.

Hanwha Investment & Securities defined this not as a simple resource investment, but as a strategic investment aimed at strengthening the supply chain competitiveness of the aerospace industry. In addition to financial feasibility, the company comprehensively considered the following factors in its advisory work: the growth direction of Korea's aerospace industry, the stabilization of core material supply, and a private sector-led strategy for securing global resources. Kim Gookseong, Executive Director of the Investment Banking Division at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated, "This is a case that demonstrates our capability to design strategic investments directly linked to the competitiveness of Korea's space industry," adding, "We will continue to strengthen our role in acquisition advisory for global investments connected to national strategic industries."