Fair Trade Commission Approves Establishment of Joint Venture Between LS and L&F

The Fair Trade Commission has approved the establishment of a joint venture between LS and L&F, which produce precursors, a key material for secondary batteries, called 'LSL&F Battery Solution' (tentative name).

According to the Fair Trade Commission on the 22nd, this joint venture will create a vertical corporate merger centered on raw materials among LS, L&F, and the newly established company. The new company will produce precursors by receiving raw materials such as nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate from LSMnM, an affiliate of LS. L&F will manufacture cathode materials using the precursors produced by the new company and supply them to lithium-ion battery manufacturers. The Fair Trade Commission judged that the global precursor and raw material markets are in a "competition safe zone" with low concentration.

The approval of the joint venture was based on factors such as the new company needing to secure raw materials from sources other than LSMnM, and the fact that a significant portion of transactions in the lithium-ion battery raw material market occurs through vertical integration. The joint venture will be established in the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex. A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "The corporate merger report has also been filed in countries such as China, Poland, and Vietnam, but a swift approval decision was made ahead of other countries."

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