By Selling Stakes in Affiliates
SK Innovation plans to invest trillions of won, which is secured by selling stakes in petroleum-related affiliates, in electric vehicle battery and eco-friendly material businesses. The company is speeding up its transition from an oil refiner to an eco-friendly material and parts company.
On April 28, SK Innovation signed an agreement (SPA) IMM Private Equity to sell 40 percent of its 100 percent stake in SK Lubricants to the private equity fund for 1.1 trillion won.
Initially, SK Innovation was planning to sell up to 49 percent of its stake in SK Lubricants. However, it decided to sell only 40 percent. SK and IMM PE agreed to list SK Lubricants on the stock market within the next five years. However, the deadline for the listing of the company can be extended by one year. SK Lubricants is a blue-chip subsidiary of SK Innovation, which produces lubricant oil and lubricant base oil. The company enjoys the largest market share in the global lubricant base oil market. In 2020, it posted 2.68 trillion won in sales and 262.2 billion won in operating profit.
SK Innovation is raising funds from diverse sources. SK IE Techology, a subsidiary that produces separators for electric vehicle batteries, is set to offer its stocks on the KOSPI market on May 11. The company’s initial public offering will bring 2.46 trillion won to SK Innovation. SK IET had already secured 300 billion won through pre-IPO investment attraction. When the listing is finalized, SK Innovation's stake in SK IET will shrink from 90 percent to 61.2 percent.
SK Global Chemical, another wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Innovation, is also reportedly considering attracting investments in various ways including stock market listing.