A Business with High Barriers to Entry
SK Global Chemical announced on June 3 (Korean standard time) that it has completed the acquisition of the high functional polymer business from French company Arkema. It announced in October 2019 that it would acquire Arkema’s polymer business assets for 335 million euros (about 439.2 billion won).
With the completion of the acquisition process, SK Global Chemical has secured all of Arkema’s high functional polymer business assets, including business rights, technology, and human resources at three production facilities in France, and four products. This will help SK Global Chemical strengthen its material technology and expand its packaging industry in the future.
SK Global Chemical will also be able to speed up its "green growth strategy" of diversifying its portfolio from general-purpose chemicals to eco-friendly, high-value-added chemicals. It is planning to expand its position in the eco-friendly chemical market based on the simultaneous creation of economic and social value as well as the expansion of its customers.
The packaging market is expected to grow by more than 6 percent annually in the future in line with growth in the online shopping and delivery service industries. Demand for packaging materials is also expected to increase steadily. The size of the plastic resin market in which products from SK Global Chemical’s newly acquired business are used is expected to grow from US$27 billion in 2016 to US$35 billion in 2021.
High functional polymer manufacturing technology has a high entry barrier. Currently, only a small number of companies such as DuPont and Mitsui can produce high-functional polymers in the world. As existing global manufacturers has refused to license out their technologies, Korean companies had to rely on imports of more than 4,000 tons a year.
Through the acquisition, SK Global Chemical will be the first Korean company to secure the world's best high functional polymer manufacturing technology. It will help reduce the Korean packaging industry's dependence on foreign countries. In addition, the company plans to expand the global packaging market in the future by using China as a bridgehead to the Asian market.