SKC Sells Stake in SK Bioland... Securing Growth Funds for BM Innovation Phase 2 (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SKC is selling its entire stake in its subsidiary SK Bioland to Hyundai HCN. With the additional growth resources secured through this sale, SKC will accelerate the promotion of its second-phase business model (BM) innovation focused on the two major pillars of future growth engines: mobility and semiconductors.

On the 18th, SKC held a board meeting and resolved to sell its 27.94% stake (approximately 4.19 million shares) in SK Bioland to Hyundai HCN, signing a stock purchase agreement. The total transaction amount is 120.5 billion KRW (per share price of 28,750 KRW), and the related procedures are expected to be completed by mid-October.

Despite SK Bioland's strong market competitiveness as the number one domestic supplier of natural cosmetic ingredients, SKC made a bold decision to sell. This is because the business model innovation direction of SKC's Deep Change and the connectivity as a future growth engine were not highly aligned.

In this way, SKC has been securing investment resources for Deep Change by divesting stakes in business areas with high market competitiveness but low synergy effects for BM innovation. In the first half of the year, SKC established SK PIC Global, a joint venture with Kuwait's state-owned chemical company PIC, and sold its stake in PI film manufacturer SKC Kolon PI, securing over 1 trillion KRW in resources.

SK Bioland, which is being sold this time, is expected to generate significant business synergy with Hyundai Department Store Group's online and offline distribution capabilities. SK Bioland, which mainly produces cosmetic and health food ingredients, medical devices, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, has consistently maintained an operating profit margin of around 16-17% for several years, recording sales of 106.3 billion KRW and operating profit of approximately 14.5 billion KRW last year despite difficult external conditions.

An SKC official said, "SKC has been pursuing a Deep Change at a level of complete transformation by overcoming numerous difficulties over the years," adding, "With the additional growth resources secured through this stake sale, SKC will more rapidly and actively advance the second-phase BM innovation centered on future growth engines such as mobility and semiconductors."

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