SEOUL/HONG KONG (Reuters) -South Korea’s battery material maker SK IE Technology Co Ltd(SKIET) said on Monday it had priced its initial public offering (IPO) at the top end of its indicative range to raise more than 2.2 trillion won ($1.98 billion).
SKIET’s shares were priced at 105,000 won compared with a range of 78,000-105,000 won per share it announced in a regulatory filing last month.
The listing, which parent company SK Innovation Co Ltd said will take place on May 11, will be the biggest in South Korea since gaming company Netmarble Corp raised 2.7 trillion won in its IPO in May 2017, according to Korea Exchange data.
The pricing values the battery material maker at 7.5 trillion won.
The IPO comes as global sales of battery-powered electric cars are expected to have reached nearly 2.5 million in 2020 and to rise by 70% in 2021, according to IHS Markit.
“We have decided to pursue an initial public offering to secure financial resources for our preemptive investment plans as part of our effort to keep up with the projected growth of the electric car as well battery material markets,” said an official at SK Innovation, which is a battery supplier for various automakers.
SKIET will offer about 8.6 million new shares in the IPO, raising about 898 billion won. SKIET supplies battery separators, a key component in lithium-ion batteries, for battery makers including SK Innovation, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI Co Ltd, Panasonic Corp, among others.
SK Innovation, will offer 12.8 million existing shares in SKIET, worth about 1.3 trillion won. It is the battery supplier for carmakers including Volkswagen, Ford Motor Co, and Hyundai Motor Co among others.
The parent company will own 61% of SKIET after the listing.
“Money raised through issuance of new shares will be used for our capital expenditure investment,” Rho Jae-sok, CEO of SKIET said during a press conference last week, adding that the company plans to execute about 700-800 billion won worth of annual capex spending for a while.
($1 = 1,112.8200 won)
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