Hyundai Department Store Group Acquires SK Bioland, No.1 Supplier of Natural Cosmetic Ingredients

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Hyundai Department Store Group is acquiring SK Bioland, the number one company in the natural cosmetics raw materials market.

Hyundai Department Store Group announced on the 18th that its affiliate Hyundai HCN will acquire a 27.9% stake (including management rights) in SK Bioland Co., Ltd., held by SKC, for 120.5 billion KRW.

In this regard, Hyundai HCN held a board meeting on the morning of the same day and approved the agenda for the ‘Contract Signing for the Acquisition of SK Bioland Co., Ltd. Shares.’

SK Bioland, acquired by Hyundai Department Store Group, was established in 1995 and became part of the SK group in 2015. Its main businesses are cosmetic raw materials, health functional foods, and biomedical sectors. It operates five domestic production plants (Cheonan, Ansan, Ochang, Osong, Jeju) and two local subsidiaries in China (Haimen, Shanghai). SK Bioland is the leading company in the domestic natural cosmetics raw materials market, possessing core technologies in extraction, fermentation, and organic synthesis using natural substances. Last year, it recorded sales of 106.3 billion KRW and an operating profit of 14.5 billion KRW (consolidated basis).

A Hyundai Department Store Group official explained, “SK Bioland operates businesses with high growth potential, including cosmetic raw materials, health functional foods, and biomedical sectors. We judged that it has a flexible business structure for future expansion, which led to the final decision to acquire.”

Regarding Hyundai HCN taking the lead in the acquisition, the official added, “Hyundai HCN has abundant cash liquidity and plans to pursue future-oriented new businesses, making it suitable for this investment purpose. It is also expected to positively enhance shareholder value in the mid to long term.”

With this acquisition of SK Bioland, Hyundai Department Store Group has laid the groundwork to expand its business scope into the beauty and healthcare sectors, following its three core businesses: distribution (department stores, home shopping, outlets, duty-free shops), fashion (Handsomme), and living & interior (Livart, L&C).

Previously, Hyundai Department Store Group declared its entry into the beauty business by acquiring management rights of a cosmeceutical specialized company through its fashion affiliate Handsomme. In this context, a Hyundai Department Store Group official stated, “With Hyundai HCN’s acquisition of SK Bioland, we can secure business capabilities and competitiveness in the cosmetic raw materials sector.”

Hyundai Department Store Group also plans to strengthen competitiveness in health functional foods and biomedical businesses through synergies with group affiliates such as Hyundai Department Store, Hyundai Home Shopping, and Hyundai Green Food. Additional M&A and investment expansions are also planned for this purpose.

A Hyundai Department Store Group official said, “For the health functional foods business, one of SK Bioland’s core businesses, we are reviewing additional M&A targeting companies that can create synergy by utilizing competitiveness in raw materials. For the biomedical business, we plan to expand investment in talent acquisition to maximize R&D synergy.”

The official added, “This acquisition of SK Bioland will serve as a foothold to expand the group’s business area as a ‘total life care company.’ Building on this, we plan to continuously discover future growth engines in the beauty and healthcare sectors.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.