Setopia Acquires Stake in Permanent Magnet Specialist NS World...Completing Rare Earth Value Chain Integration

Setopia announced on the 19th that it has signed a stock transfer agreement for NS World (NS World) to establish a rare earth value chain and localize metal and alloy smelting technology. NS World is a rare earth neodymium permanent magnet manufacturer located in Cheongju, Chungbuk.

Through this agreement, Setopia will preferentially acquire 50,000 existing shares of NS World. It is expected to acquire 50,000 newly issued shares by participating in three rounds of paid-in capital increases in November this year, January next year, and April. Setopia will secure 100,000 shares of NS World and a 29.49% stake in the first phase. The total acquisition fund amounts to 5.5 billion KRW.

The two companies plan to further strengthen their cooperative relationship and expand synergy through this equity acquisition. Setopia will produce permanent magnet metals from rare earth oxides stably secured through GCM, a joint venture with Vietnam's VTRE, and supply them to NS World via KCM.

NS World, located in Cheongju, Chungbuk, is a manufacturer of automotive and home appliance magnet parts, recording sales of approximately 11.2 billion KRW in 2022. The sales proportion related to NS World’s neodymium bonded magnets rapidly increased from about 30% in 2021, 60% in 2022, to an expected over 70% in 2023. Additionally, sales in the rare earth sintered magnet segment are projected to expand by about 20 billion KRW in 2024.

NS World operates a business that purchases raw materials in resin form from affiliated companies, processes them into neodymium permanent magnets, and supplies and sells these products to first-tier vendors of automotive and home appliance manufacturers.

The main clients are first-tier vendors supplying parts to Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM, Ford, Hyundai Mobis, KG Mobility, BOSCH, among others. NS World also supplies magnets (ferrite, rare earth bonded permanent magnets) to companies manufacturing home appliance-related parts such as LG Electronics, LG Innotek, and OTIS.

NS World holds numerous certifications related to electronic component (magnet) production, design, development, and manufacturing, as well as patents concerning resin manufacturing technology. It has been recognized for its technological capabilities by carrying out government national projects three times in 2015, 2017, and 2018, including the development of magnetically energized injection magnets and rare earth resin magnets used in automotive parts.

A Setopia official stated, “Through this equity acquisition, we have internalized the entire rare earth permanent magnet value chain, from the supply of rare earth permanent magnet oxides to the final product, permanent magnets, supplied to end users.” He emphasized, “We will expand synergy with affiliated companies in the rapidly growing rare earth permanent magnet business driven by market expansion in electric vehicles, home appliances, and future industries, and achieve localization of metal and alloy smelting technology to leap forward as a leading domestic company.”

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