SK Inc. completes merger with its advanced materials arm

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- SK Inc., the holding company of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Tuesday it has completed the merger with its advanced materials arm to further expand its foothold in such areas as semiconductor and battery materials.

SK announced the plan in August to absorb SK Materials Co. in an effort to gain an edge in the promising advanced materials sectors. The shareholders of SK Materials approved the merger with SK in late October.

The new entity will be launched Dec. 1, according to SK. SK Materials will be split into investment and business, and SK will absorb the investment unit and turn the business part into its wholly-owned subsidiary.

With the merger, SK said it will focus on securing the key technologies for anode and cathode materials by combining its investment expertise and SK Materials' competence in advanced materials.

SK Materials has partnered up with U.S. Group 14 Technologies to build a factory in South Korea to produce silicon anode, a key component of electric vehicle batteries considered to be thinner and more powerful than graphite-based anodes.

SK plans to expand its portfolio into carbon nanotubes -- a potentially new anode material for lithium-ion batteries -- and silicon carbide used in electric vehicles, as well as other semiconductor materials for self-driving and fifth generation technologies.

SK Inc. has unveiled a 5.1 trillion-won (US$4.35 billion) investment plan to expand its foothold in the advanced materials sector by 2025, with a focus on semiconductors and battery materials.

elly@yna.co.kr
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