SK Lubricants up for sale as parent firm bulks up EV battery business
Ri-ahn Kim and Jun Ho Cha
Aug 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
SK Innovation Co. Ltd., the single shareholder of SK Lubricants Co. Ltd., has put the lube base oil supplier up for sale as the parent company seeks new funding to expand the business of rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs).
SK Innovation, an oil refiner and EV battery maker, has recently selected Citigroup Global Market Securities to lead the planned sale and has begun tapping potential buyers, according to oil refinery industry sources on Aug. 13.
The stake size on offer is up to 49%. But if a prospective buyer wants management rights, SK Innovations may sell the entire unit estimated to be worth 3 trillion-4 trillion won ($2.5 billion-$3.4 billion).
SK Innovations may opt for competitive bidding to boost its price tag to as high as 5 trillion won, the sources said.