OCI to Sell Non-core Subsidiary to Focus on Solar Sector

In a bid to focus more on the solar sector, a core business for the future, OCI, Korea's largest polysilicon maker, promotes the disposal of its non-core subsidiary, OCI Materials.

At a board meeting on May 29, OCI decided to sell OCI Materials through a restrictive competitive tender, and Credit Suisse Group was selected as the organizer of the disposal.

Established in 1982 in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk Province, OCI Materials is the world’s biggest supplier of a special gas,Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3), acquired by OCI in 2005. Nitrogen Trifluoride is a special gas required in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels. Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK Hynix are the major client companies. As OCI Materials posted 211.7 billion won (US$190.86 million) in sales and 26.4 billion won (US$23.8 million) in operating profits last year, the company became a lucrative subsidiary of the group. The current market capitalization of OCI Materials amounts to 1.2807 trillion won (US$1.15 billion). The group will sell its 5,178,535 stocks, a 49.1 percent shareholding.

OCI decided to sell its subsidiary as a measure for business structure reorganization in order to concentrate on the existing core businesses o the new renewable energy, such as solar energy generation and the energy storage system (ESS), and the petrochemical sectors. OCI tapped into the U.S. solar power generation market in 2011, and won a contract for the 400 megawatt (MW) Alamo project. Also, it has begun to construct a 2.5 MW distributed solar power plant in China, focusing on solar energy generation. 

OCI is also planning to build solar power plants in India and Africa in the future. As the company started the construction of a carbon black production facility and a coal tar refinery in China last year, OCI will expand investment in the oil and coal chemistry businesses.