Green Light Given
On June 26 the shareholders of SK Holdings and SK C&C approved the proposed merger between the two SK affiliates, giving the green light to launch a new entity retaining the name SK Holdings on Aug. 1.
The swap ratio between SK Holdings and SK C&C was set at 0.75:1. The asset value of the merged company is estimated to reach 13.2 trillion won (US$12 billion), strengthening the influence of the de facto owning family that includes chairman Chey Tae-won.
Approval was won despite opposition by the National Pension Service claiming that the share-swap ratio could hurt shareholder interests. The National Pension Service has a 7.2 percent stake in SK Holdings.
After the approval, SK Holdings CEO Cho Dae-sik said, “The new holding company will make every effort to meet shareholders’ expectations by achieving 200 trillion won [US$178 billion] in sales and 10 trillion won [US$8.9 billion] in profits by 2020.”
In the meantime, SK group Chairman Chey Tae-won currently holds a 32.9 percent stake in SK C&C, while his stake in SK Holdings stands at only 0.02 percent. His stake in the new entity will reduce to 23.2 percent, but his influence throughout the SK companies is expected to get boosted. The owner's family, including chairman Chey, will hold a 30.6 percent stake in the new holding company.
The remaining matter now is, however, whether the NPS will exercise its appraisal rights.
In spite of the huge holding company launch, the stock value of the two SK affiliates showed a constant positive trend on the day. The value per stock of SK C&C recorded 279,500 won (US$249), up 0.72 percent or 2,000 won (US$1.78) from the previous day, while that of SK Holdings was 201,500 won (US$180), up 1.77 percent, or 3,500 won (US$3.12).