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SK IE Technology to go public on Seoul bourse in May

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An overview of SK IE Technology's lithium-ion battery separator factory in Poland / Courtesy of SK Innovation

SK IE Technology, a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation, said Wednesday it will commence the initial public offering (IPO) process for its Seoul bourse debut in May.

SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators, said it will float 21.4 million shares on the KOSPI market at prices between 78,000 won and 105,000 won, which would take its market value up to 7.5 trillion won ($6.6 billion).

SKIET will issue 8.5 million new shares, and SK Innovation will sell 12.8 million shares in the subsidiary for the IPO, the two companies said in regulatory filings.

SKIET said it will accept subscriptions for 5.3 million shares from individual investors on April 22 and 23, which would raise up to 2.3 trillion won of funds.

On Sunday, SKIET said it will invest 1.13 trillion won to build two more separator plants in an existing complex in Poland to step up its production capacity. It also has factories in South Korea and China.

Separators are essential materials for batteries for electric vehicles, and they take up about 15 percent to 20 percent of battery production costs. SKIET posted 137 billion won in operating profit and 460 billion won in sales last year.

The IPO process comes while SK Innovation is making last-ditch efforts to nullify the U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) ruling on a trade secret case with LG Energy Solution, which issued a limited 10-year ban on imports of certain lithium-ion batteries by SK.

The ruling could jeopardize SK Innovation's $2.6 billion battery factory currently under construction in Georgia, if President Joe Biden does not veto the ruling within 60 days or the two companies do not reach a compromise before the presidential review deadline by April 11.

SK and LG have attempted to resolve the row after the ruling earlier this month, but they failed to reach a compromise over the big gap in the settlement amount.

Shares of SK Innovation fell 1.79 percent to 219,000 won on the Seoul bourse on Wednesday, underperforming the main KOSPI's 0.28 percent decline. The regulatory briefing was released after the market closing. (Yonhap)