SK E&S Launches Public Tender Offer for Busan City Gas

Busan Urban Gas to Publicly Buy Back 23.6% of Shares at 85,000 Won per Share

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK E&S is pursuing the delisting of its subsidiary Busan City Gas through a tender offer for its shares.

On the 16th, SK E&S announced that it will conduct a tender offer to purchase 23.6% (2,595,597 shares) of Busan City Gas shares at 85,000 KRW per share. The tender offer period is 30 days, from the 16th to the 15th of next month.

SK E&S currently holds 62.32% (7,405,403 shares) of the total issued shares of Busan City Gas. Through this tender offer, SK E&S plans to hold all of the outstanding shares, 90.92% (10,001,000 shares), excluding 9.08% (999,000 shares) of treasury stock of Busan City Gas.

The purchase price per share is 40.62% higher than the weighted arithmetic average closing price over the past three months. SK E&S explained that a high premium compared to the market price was reflected to protect investors.

SK E&S stated that it is pursuing this tender offer to enhance management efficiency with Busan City Gas. Busan City Gas has been actively promoting new businesses such as fuel cell power generation and hydrogen charging stations in Myeongji New Town recently, and if it becomes a 100% subsidiary of SK E&S, synergy effects between the two companies are expected when advancing future eco-friendly energy businesses.

SK E&S plans to pursue delisting after acquiring shares through the tender offer. According to the regulations of the Korea Exchange, if the largest shareholder holds more than 95% of the total issued shares of the target company, they can apply for voluntary delisting.

An SK E&S official said, "Through this tender offer, we will increase the flexibility of Busan City Gas's management activities and strive for growth as a comprehensive energy company."

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